World War Equestria
by DeadLight63
Summary: One week after the wedding, Equestria is under attack by the changelings, and the once peaceful world finds itself in a full blown world wide war. Eight years later, a young Sergeant finds himself thrown into the climax of this heated conflict...
1. Initiation

_8 Years After the Wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor..._

Green checked his front hoof, making sure that it had been strapped on tightly. The front of his hoof contained an iron covering, which had a button on the inside which could reveal a hidden blade. It had been hoof made by his father, and was originally going to be used by him until he was killed by the changelings two years ago. Green shook his head as he thought back to that day. When changelings came out of their disgusting caves and attacked Canterlot. Nopony had expected an attack, but they did. It was only a week after the Princess's wedding, and the effects lasted for years. Changelings had attacked again, this time killing innocent ponies and injuring several noble ponies before taking over the city. Fortunately, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had escaped, and fled to the mountains. But the attacks didn't stop there. Queen Chrysalis led a charge into five major cities, capturing two, destroying one, and leaving the final two devastated. Equestria decided that action had to be taken, and a full scale military was called to service for the first time in over two thousand years. The military consisted of five branches, "The Army", which led the charge into battle, "The Seadogs", the navy, "Air Force", exclusive to Pegasi, "The Marines", heavily equipped front line fighters, and his branch, "The Garrison". The Garrison was the branch of all special ops divisions, and had cutting edge technology. They were the first called in when a mission proved to be too hazardous for regular forces.

"Step in." He heard. Green turned his head, seeing the door open. Inside was a large stallion, with a brown mane, and a tan coat. On his body was a camo outfit, complete with trousers and boots. On his right torso were three stars, each lined with a golden spark. This was the rank of a Lieutenant General. The stallion placed his hoof on the doorway, inviting him in. Green nodded and stood from his sitting position. As he walked past the general, he saw a cold stiffness in his eyes. There was no emotion, no evidence of care, and no warmth. Most likely, he was a former royal guard. Most officers and leaders were. Inside the room was an enormous round table, which broke off into several other much smaller segments. At each break off was a group of stallions and mares that observed him, trying to size him up. In the center of the table was a large screen, which, if it was anything like his previous unit, was used to display battle plans, or in this case, bring up dossiers for new additions to a particular spec ops unit. The one he was joining, the Special Ground Tactics Division, or SGTD, was exclusive to only Earth Ponies, although he didn't know why. The walls were lined with maps of various cities, each depicting hotspots for changeling activity, or, if the town was under Equestrian control, key defense positions throughout the city. These maps played crucial roles in determining strategies, and was usually a necessity in meetings. The general walked past Green and stared at him coldly, to which Green returned the favor. Despite being only a Sergeant, and only three years of experience, Green knew how to keep his emotions under wraps. The general sat down in one of the small sections, and extended his hoof to the seat next to him.

"It's good to meet you Sergeant Evergreen. Please, take a seat." He said. Green nodded and walked slowly over to the seat. On his way, one of the soldiers whispered the word "pixie" at him. This was an insulting way to address new additions, and was almost always used on first timers. Green glared at the soldier who said it, a blue stallion with a black mane, and a smart aleck smile on his face. The stallion had a helmet in front of him, and rested his foreleg on it. The helmet was a camo color, although instead of woodland, it was decorated in a series of white and light blue, to blend in with snowy environments. The stallion

"I think you missed the exit. It's that way." The stallion said as he pointed towards a door marked with an exit sign. Green growled and stepped closer threateningly, to which the stallion brought out a knife to his throat.

"Lieutenant Case, that's enough. Stand down." The general said with authority in his voice. Case laughed, and dragged the knife swiftly across the fur on Green's face, cutting of a few strands. Green glared at him a few seconds, then moved to the seat next to the general. The general pressed a button on the table, and the screen flashed with a photo of Green. He had a brown mane, and a dark green coat. His eyes were red, and his face contained an emotionless frown, while his eye brows cured, making him appear to be angry. The picture decreased in size, and made way for a cluster of information on him. His full name, Evergreen, his age, 23, as well as much more descriptive information.

"Sergeant Evergreen, former member of the QGR team operating in Neigh York, serving under one Master Sergeant Evergreen for your first year until your unit was ambushed and he was killed in action. Since then, you operated under his right hand stallion SFC. Graphite, who took over as the leader of the team. Is this correct?" The general asked as he looked over to the Sergeant. Green nodded. Before this, he was a member of his father's Quick Ground Response team, and kept Neigh York and surrounding cities safe from sudden changeling attacks. His transfer was requested by a stallion who was a field commander in this unit, and approved after Graphite had discussed it with him. He had yet to meet the officer who had requested him, but wasn't in a rush. He left behind all of his friends, and his brothers. Not his real brothers of course, but fighting alongside those men for three years had strengthened their bonds, and Green had been taken away.

"Yes sir." He answered the general turned his head back to the screen as a mare hit a button issuing a small beep. This was used to show that you had something to say, which could be ignored if desired. However, in this case, the general allowed the mare her say, and turned to face her. The mare had a light blue mane and a yellow coat, and was wearing a camo cap on her head. Her eyes had a mix of a blue and purple color, and her body was covered in a suit designed to keep out poisonous gasses.

"Forgive me for saying this general, but what has this... rookie done to get him in this division from a QGR team? That's one of the lowest ranking spec ops teams we have." She said with a questioning look. Green clenched his teeth and was about to speak, before another short beep was heard. This time it was a stallion with a tan mane and a dark red coat. Green fell back into his chair and glared angrily at the mare who had insulted his squad.

"If I may answer your question FS, This stallion has survived ten missions in which his squad was ambushed, and or outnumbered ten to one. Only a truly skilled operator can accomplish such a feat." The stallion said in a matter of fact tone. FS was a slang term for First Sergeant, so this mare must have been in service for quite a while. She nodded and looked back at the general, who waited to continue.

"Now, your dossier states that your unit has taken on several missions in which you have required nearly absolute silence, and the highest degree of stealthy operations. Now, according to what it says, these operations normally go without a hitch, and are successful. However, it also states that you have had instances in which you have blown your cover and rushed out to fight the enemy." The general shakes his head and looks over to Green, raising his eyebrow.

"Care to elaborate Sergeant?" The general said.

"Probably to dumb to think ahead." Case said insultingly, causing a few of the other ponies in the room to chuckle. Green grit his teeth and gave an annoyed growl. His pride was being bashed left and right in this room, and he wasn't enjoying it. The general told the officers and field operators to calm down, and gave the floor to Green.

"Well, in these cases, civilians were being attacked by changelings. I know the mission is supposed to come first, but our duty is to protect the innocent." He said.

"I appreciate your willingness to put your life on the line for them Sergeant, but you seem to have forgotten that it's not only your rear that's on the line out there. Your whole team is affected by the actions you make in the battle field. Your actions caused three soldiers to be injured to the point they could no longer serve, and countless injuries to others." The general says. Green hangs his head and looks down, facing the table.

"Just your average, everyday idiot pixie." Case said. A few more ponies laughed before the one that had come to his defense earlier told them to quiet down. The general moved on, brining up a list of accomplishments.

"Now, a couple of noticeable details in your career involve eliminating a group of eighty changelings with only you and about eight other operators. Something not every QGR agent can say. In addition, your unit participated in the rescue of Detrot when the Army requested back up. Amongst other feats." The general said. Green smiled, looking around the room to see several ponies nodding in approval. He heard a scoff, and turned to Case. He sat back, seeming unimpressed.

"Yeah whatever, even a butterfly can do a few remarkable things in it's life." He says as he lays his head on his hooves, which laid on the back of his chair. Green frowned again, shaking his head. This Case guy was a dirtbag, and surely be a thorn in his side. The general glared at the Lieutenant, and told him to get his act together. The Lieutenant gave a shrug, as if he didn't know what he did wrong. The general shook his head and moved the dossier along, which now showed his strengths and weaknesses.

"Now, you excel at hoof to hoof combat, and low Intel ops. You are able to adapt to situations, as is expected of a QGR unit, and you manage to handle more weapons than is expected of a soldier. However, your dossier also states that you tend to take the initiative when a situation changes, instead of waiting for orders. In addition, you have a tendency to take longer than usual on missions because you are side tracked with rescuing civilians." Green was about to defend himself, but the general held up his hoof.

"That last one isn't necessarily a bad thing, but be sure to watch when you head in to rescue them. You can't be leaving your team every ten seconds." He said. Green nodded, and looked around. The expressions of the ponies varied, from nods in acknowledgement of his strengths, while some seemed worried about his irrational initiative. The general pressed the button again, making the dossier vanish. He turned in his chair, observing each of the officers.

"Alright, you've seen his dossier, you know his accomplishments, and what he has yet to accomplish. We've already agreed that he's going to be joining, as Major Tiffon, has agreed to take him into his squad." The general pointed over to the red stallion who had defended him earlier. He smiled and nodded. Green saluted him, until allowed to be at ease. The general looked to him, stood from his chair.

"Now Major, you are to inform him of what kind of missions you are deployed to. As well as show him around, make him familiar with our compound. Introduce him to the rest of your squad, integrate him into the system. As for the rest of you, stick to your previous assignments." The general looked over the ponies, nodded, and told them to get going. The ponies began to stand from their chairs, and Green stood as well. Instantly he felt something slam into his back, sending a quick shock of pain into his back. He grunted in pain as he heard Case's voice laughing. He growled and stood. The major walked up to him and helped him up, apologizing for Case's behavior.

"That idiot's not a squad mate is he?" Green asked as he glared at the stallion walking out the door. The major shook his head.

"No, don't worry. He's in charge of his own team. We'll hardly ever see him." He said. Green sighed and looked over to the major. He smiled and held something in his hoof, and reached out. Green backed away slightly, but stopped when the major touched his shoulder, then pulled away. Looking to the spot, Green noticed a badge. On it was a sword, which was placed between two wheels, as well as surround by wheels to the left and right. Each had what looked like a cable connecting the wheels, and all came together at the sword. Crossing the sword from it's side was a banner reading _Special Ground Tactics Division._

"I'm Major Joshua Tiffon. Welcome to the SGTD Sergeant Evergreen."

...

**OCs in this Chapter:**

**Major Joshua Tiffon- CaptainCeaser**


	2. Meeting the Team

_Baltimare, SGTD Base "Bravo" _

_09:12 Hours_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SDTD_

_March 23rd_

Green sighed as he stood at the doorway with Major Tiffon, which led into the barracks. The base was a very large compound, composed of several housing areas, training grounds, simulators, officer training halls, armories, garages, areas reserved for relaxing, such as weight rooms, a basketball court, and a baseball field, and a few mess halls. Each housing area was really just where soldiers would go to rest and make schedules between training drills and meals. Major Tiffon had said that a few, like him, had actual homes on base where you could move your family to if you wanted to be able to see them more often. The relaxation areas were for when you were a bit more experienced, and you either didn't have very many drills and training sessions, or none at all. Of course, he was new, and would not have access to these areas very often as he would be swamped with assignments and training sessions. The only area of the compound he hadn't been yet was the barracks, where there was medical care, letter stations to communicate with your family and or loved ones, several designated briefing areas, and resting areas for soldiers who were WIA. This was also an area that new weapons were tested, and sometimes, chemical warfare would be tested in designated areas.

"Alright Sergeant, time for you to meet the rest of our squad. Just be cool, and you'll be fine." Major Tiffon said as he slowly pushed open the doors. Green felt slightly refreshed as a wave of cold air came from the room, cooling down his sweat covered face. The room contained several tables, and contained several racks with prototypes of weapons waiting to be tested. However, Green's attention was not turned toward the new weaponry, instead it was at a table at the far end of the room, where five stallions sat. One was polishing a wrist gun, a weapon attached to the wrist that fired metal spikes up to 300 yards, what kind it was, he wasn't sure. Two chatted with each other, while the others observed a weapon that was much larger than any he had ever seen before.

"Men, at attention." Major Tiffon said with authority in his voice. The two conversing couldn't seem to hear him, as they continued to chat. The ones observing the weapon seemed to fixated on it to pay the officer any mind. The only one that acknowledged the presence of Green and Tiffon was the one polishing his wrist gun. He was a rather large stallion, and now that green could see his wrist, he knew it was one of the fully automatic shooters. The stallion had a grey coat, and a light blue mane. He wasn't wearing any battle gear, so he must have been on break. His cutie mark is a hammer slamming down on a spike, so he must have been a carpenter prior to joining the force.

"Well if it isn't the FNG." He says as he stands up and walks over to the two ponies. At the mention of FNG, the other stallions look up, and instantly notice the Major and Sergeant. Tiffon smiles and places a hoof on Green's shoulder.

"This is Sergeant Evergreen, our new teammate. Just got transferred from the QGR in Neigh York." The Major said as he patted the soldier's shoulder. Green nodded, but maintained his focused glare. The first stallion walked up to him, and shook his head, clearly angry about something.

"So... You really replaced Imax that easily? Guess that just shows how replaceable you think he was." The stallion said with an angry glare. Tiffon sighed and lowered his hoof, going back to all fours. Green looked over to the other stallions, who were steadily coming up to face him. One had a orange coat and a green mane. His flank contained a cutie mark of beam of light, which gave light to a small tree. The soldier looked over to Green and smiled. He raised his eyebrow and cocked his head to the side as he observed green.

"Well look at you big fella, getting to the SGTD from the QGR? You must really be something special." He said as he walked up to him. He had a thick Scottish accent, must have Scotland. He raised a hoof and smiled. Green looked at it for a moment and slowly raised his hoof, looking at the stallion again, he carefully grasped the other's hand, who shook his hoof.

"I'm MS Solar Flare, nice to meet you." He said with a nod. Green nodded back and looked to the side of him, back to the gray coated stallion. He continued to frown, and shook his head at the Sergeant. Green shook this off and looked back over to Solar Flare.

"Sergeant Evergreen. You can just call me Green. Glad to be a part of the team." He said. Flare nodded and let go of his hoof. Looking over to the gray stallion, he wrapped a hoof around his neck and pushed him down slightly. The gray stallion glared angrily at him as he growled.

"This stubborn yank is Staff Sergeant West Rook. He's not a big fan of new guys, so don't take anything he does or says personally." He says as Rook throws his hoof off of him and glares at him, to which Flare chuckles.

"He's got a bit of a temper too." He said with a smile. Rook slugged him on the foreleg, but Flare didn't seem to care. Tiffon shook his head and looked over to another stallion, telling Green that the one he was pointing to was his second in command, Lieutenant Long Bow. The stallion was definitely a lot more rounded than the other two, as he carried a serious expression that carried neither anger, or happiness. His coat was a light shade of yellow, and his mane was red. He nodded at the Sergeant, and welcomed him to the team. His accent was thick with an English accent, seeming to give him added authority. His cutie mark was a red X and surrounded by a combination of white and blue. Green nodded and gave a quick salute to the officer before Tiffon introduced the next stallion.

This one had purple coat and a rust colored mane, and he seemed to be somewhat relaxed, not happy, but relaxed. His cutie mark was a brown saddlebag, which sat next to a needle and a piece of string. Looking over Evergreen, he gave a bored expression as he took his hoof and shook it. Instantly, Green felt the stallion begin to crush his hoof, and he gave a quick groan of pain. The stallion continued to push down harder as he came close and stared Green in the eyes.

"Sergeant Adam Mason. Don't even think about giving me orders pixie." He said with a solid tone. He threw Green's hoof aside and stepped back. Green rubbed his hoof, trying to get rid of the soreness that Mason had instilled in his hoof. The final stallion was a Sergeant as well, but had only just been promoted from a Corporal just one week ago. This meant that Green had more experience, as he had been a Sergeant for ten months now. He had a white coat and a blonde mane, and gave the Sergeant a solid hoof shake. Unlike the others, this one said that he looked forward to fighting along side him, and didn't mind if Green gave him orders. His name was Polar Grace. His cutie mark was a screw driver, as well as a couple of screws. Must have been a construction worker. Green smiled and nodded, saying he was looking forward to it.

"Alright you guys aren't being paid to stand around. Lieutenant, I need you for a debrief and any ideas you might have to improve the plan. Evergreen, Polar, you two are due at the shooting range for a couple of drills. Rook, you have that training session you need to get to. Mason, you're on patrol, so grab your SMWG and get to the outside of the compound. Flare, you're with him." Tiffon said as he motioned for the Lieutenant to follow him. When the officers left the room, Rook slammed his hoof into Green's left foreleg, causing him to groan in pain.

"What's your problem dude?" He asked in a near shout. Rook charged and slammed him against a wall, to which Flare tried to pull him off.

"Easy now Rook, don't kill the guy on his first day." He said as he pried him off. Rook glared at the Sergeant as Polar helped him up, pulling him away to get to the shooting range before the two got into a full out brawl.


	3. Into Battle

**A/N This internet problem is KILLING me! I literally have an online connection for three hours in the morning, then at 11:00 at night... I am so sorry guys. PS: If you didn't know, I'm accepting OC requests for this story. If you have an idea for one, just send it in a PM. NOT the reviews. **

_Cloudsdale, Equestrian Air Force Launch Base_

_10:42 Hours _

_Technical Sergeant Darkstar, 52nd Airborne Division_

_March 24th_

Darkstar reared down and opened his wings preparing for takeoff. The SGTD had been called in for an attack on Changeling controlled Prance, and he was serving with three other pegasi as air support. He was leading the op, as he was the highest rank of the team. As the leader, he was also carrying the chemical weapon that would be used in air strikes if requested by the SGTD. The ponies assisting him stand next to his sides, ready to take off. Airman First Class Hay Bark, a grey, well built stallion was to his right, and his fire orange eyes carried a fierce determination. Senior Airman Blue Hope, a smaller mare who could fly faster than anypony in the sky (with the exception of Rainbow Dash) , had a blue coat like Darkstar, but had also had a light blue mane, as opposed to his black one. To her left was AFC Jack Niles, a red stallion with a brown mane.

"Tower this is Air Unit 1509, requesting permission to launch, over." He said into his radio. Darkstar had been on these kinds of missions before, and it was basically just a routine attack by now. Move in, provide aerial recon, pick off airborne threats, go home. This was his fourth "Seize and dominate" mission in three weeks, and he was almost sick of them. Still, he had made a promise to his dead father to win back Equestria, and if this was how he was going to do it, so be it.

"Roger, Air Unit 1509, you are clear for take off, over." He heard from his radio. He looked over to his soldiers, and nodded. With a mighty push, he launched himself off of the clouds making his home, and soared high into the sky. His troops quickly followed his lead, keeping in a steady V formation as they traveled higher and higher into the sky. Darkstar did a half flip in mid air, making him upside down. He twisted, bringing back to right side up, and pumped his wings behind him. The extra push of air allowed him to shoot right past the flight tower, where he saw two pegasi surrounded by several screens. These were connected to a wireless antenna, which received video feed from special goggles that Air Force operators wore.

"Sky is clear tower, moving into rally point Alpha, meeting up with the SGTD team in an approximate time of 12:10 hours, over." Darkstar said as he flapped his wings against the wind. Looking behind him, he sees Blue Hope to his right, and nods at her. She nods back and checks a map in her headset. Beside her, Niles checked a radar, checking on SGTD progress. All while Hay bark just keeps his eyes straight, forcing himself farther ahead of his two other teammates.

"Copy that Air Unit 1509, keep us posted once you get there, out." Darkstar heard.

"Sir, the SGTD team will be arriving in about one hour, we're going to be a bit late to the party." Niles said as he brought his hoofs to his front, like most athletes do.

"We'll let them know once we receive radio contact with them, they're out of our radio range for now." He said as he made a quick barrel rolling motion over a large cloud. The white puff gently touches his left hoof, which quickly evaporates on his touch.

"Tech Sarge, we got a situation. The Changelings have set up an air base near the outskirts of the town. I believe they have units in the air right now, our guys will be sitting ducks." Hope says as she lifts herself over a mass gathering of clouds. She gently descends, returning to the formation. Darkstar turns back to his front, darting forward using his wings to propel him.

"Then we need to hurry. Go as fast as you can, we gotta make the playing field balanced."

...

_Prance Border, Outskirts_

_11:50 Hours (Eastern Time)_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SGTD_

_March 24th_

Green stared blankly at the gas mask that lay in his hooves. The carrier gently moved up as they came along a bump. Looking up, he sees that Major Tiffon has already placed his mask on his head, as has Lieutenant Long Bow. Rook, Grace, Mason, and Flare, however, have not placed their masks on yet. Something about not needing them until the mission began. Green wasn't a fan of gas masks in general, so he didn't have his on either. The whole team had on the same black jumpsuits, which blended in with the dark. It was night time in Prance, so the masks had been outfitted with night vision.

"Prance, the city of love." Flare said as he looked up to the ceiling of the carrier. Rook just scoffed and crossed his forelegs, shaking his head. Green rose his eyebrow, and placed his mask to his side, and turned to face Rook. Something about this stallion just pushed him the wrong way. Then again, that could be because his first encounter with him ended in a fight.

"Hey ain't these seize and dominate missions supposed to be for the marines or the army?" Grace asks. Green looks over to him.

"I think there's some sort of command post here that we need to take over before the big guns roll in." He says as he checks his weapons. Usually, that was how it worked. The Garrison sent spec ops crews into hazardous areas, with almost nopony knowing what they were up too, save for command and the actual team sent in.

"Cut the chatter, we're on sight in less than a minute." Tiffon says as he straps his wrist gun on. Green looks over to Mason, who slowly begins to place the mask over his head. Green observes his for a moment, then places it over his head. The world goes black for a brief second, then he can see the inside of the carrier through the goggles. Just like every other time he wears one, it squeezes his snout, and pinches his left cheek for a moment. He groans, annoyed with the mask already.

"Night vision on." Tiffon says, as he places his hoof to his head. Green nods and reaches to the side of his own head, and flips a dial connected to the goggles. The room flashes bright green for a moment, then descends into the middle of his vision, leaving nothing but a greenish tint over his team. He looks to his right, and sees Mason leap up, and move near the center of the door.

"I'm ready sir. Just say when." He says as he crouches behind the opening of the door. Tiffon nods, ordering the rest of the stallions to stack up behind Mason, and be ready to charge out. Green nearly questions this, but decides to leave it alone. He really didn't feel like asking "pixie" questions, and give Mason and Rook the pleasure of making fun of him for it. He carefully loads a spike into the first chamber of his wrist gun, then slowly trots behind Flare, with Grace stacked up behind him. Tiffon counts backwards from three, then pumps his hoof. Mason nods, and rams the door open with his shoulder. The door blasts open, and Green quickly follows Rook outside.

"Stay close." Tiffon says as he throws his hoof up, telling the group to halt. Green skids, and has to beat against the ground to gain his footing. Mason looks back to him, shakes his head, and leans over to Rook.

"Freakin' Pixies dude." He says with a disgusted tone. Green frowns, although nopony can see it from his mask. What did these guys have against him? Seriously, they couldn't be this angry with him just because he was new... Could they? Rook looks over to him, and shakes his head.

"Don't even get me started. Not while we're on a mission." He says as he turns back around, facing the front of the group. Green sighs, and looks down to the ground. He was honestly starting to feel more like a burden than an addition to the squad. Then again, maybe he was. He feels a hoof on his shoulder, and looks behind him. Staring back at him is Grace, who is patting his shoulder.

"Happens to the best of us. Don't let it get you down." He says with a slight nod. Green nods and turns back to the front, where Tiffon is observing a changeling. He shakes his head.

"No... That's not right... There shouldn't be activity yet..." He says. Green carefully moves forward, and observes the changeling, seeing him patrolling the border of the town. It has a couple of changelings behind it, each with pouches along it's midsection. Fire bombs no doubt. Ever since the war began, the changelings were working on getting fire into the smallest possible form, since it was so destructive. Green is taken aback, and steps back slightly. This didn't make any sense, wasn't the Air Force supposed to have caught these guys? They would have told them right?

"Where's that air support we were promised?" Long Bow asks as he looks over to the Major. Green looks over to him, and sees him shake his head.

"I don't know, I'll try reaching them on the radio." Tiffon brings his hoof to his ear and calls for a response from the air unit. He lowers his hoof and waits a few seconds. Aggravated, he calls them up again, this time nearing a regular volume, instead of just a whisper. Green looks to the sky, and sees flying ponies. He nearly gives a sigh of relief, but he freezes. The ponies weren't brightly colored, they were all black. No... Changeling air support? But... They didn't even have an airbase here! How could this be happening?

"Uh... Sir... We have a problem... It's not our guys in the sky..." He says. Tiffon turns to him, and asks him what he's talking about. Green lifts a hoof and points it up into the sky, and Tiffon observes it. Almost instantaneously, he gives an annoyed groan, and slams his hoof into one of the nearby trees. This was bad, their air support was nowhere to be seen, and now the enemy had eyes in sky to pin point their location. Green shifts himself, placing his back against the tree line. He had to think... The command post was in the center of the city, and there was a lot of ground between here and there.

"Sir, what's our next move?" He asks. Tiffon looks over to the changelings briefly, then turns back to the troops.

"Wait for the ground patrol to move on, then we sneak into the city." He says as he watches the enemy. Green nods and looks to the hostiles, seeing two of the changelings speaking to one another. This could take a while, and they weren't exactly on a loose schedule. The Army would be on it's way in about an hour, with the Marines moving in about five minutes after that. They couldn't just wait for every battalion to pass, otherwise the rest of the military would be walking into a trap.

"We're on the clock Major, we don't have time for this." Long Bow says.

"Then we make time! I'm not losing my troops just because some of you don't have any patience." Tiffon said as he crouched down. Long Bow shakes his head and follows his lead. All while Green watches a changeling enter a building, while an airborne one lands on one of the roof tops. Were they taking a break? This could be an opening. Green carefully positions himself, becoming ready to launch if Tiffon gives the order.

"Hold..." He says as he raises a hoof. Green holds his breath as the two changelings turn away, appearing to be walking back into the city. They wait for a few more minutes, and sit without making a noise. Still, the changelings have not moved. Rook shakes his head.

"This is ridiculous. We're running out of time, and you're not doing anything about it!" He whispers to the Major. Tiffon looks back over to him, although Green can't really tell what emotion he has thanks to the mask. That was another thing he hated about the masks. No matter how hard you tried, you could never be sure of how the pony behind it was feeling, except by the indication of the voice. And usually, by then, it was too late to do anything if they were in a bad mood.

"Will you relax Rook? I have this under control." He says with a harsh tone. Green shakes his head and looks back to the town. The last thing he wanted was to be involved in an argument between these guys. He watches the changelings look around the buildings for a moment, then retreat inside. Green looks back over to the Major, and throws his hoof over to the city.

"It's clear!" He says. Tiffon nods and looks into the town, and holds up a hoof. Green prepares himself to be ready to pounce, and rears back onto his hind legs.

"Ok... Go!" The Major says as he rushes from cover. He is quickly followed by Long Bow, who is followed by Flare. Green is just about to get going, but is pushed down by Rook.

"Order of rank rookie." He says as he pushes off of a tree. Green groans and rubs his head as Mason glares at him and runs off. He was starting to get sick and tired of Rook just pushing him around like he didn't even matter. He had earned his right to be on this team, and therefore, Rook had no right to be pushing him around like this. Shaking his head, he ran off, following behind Mason, and Grace following behind him. Green pumps his legs as fast as he can, and slides down, trying to stop himself as he reaches the first building. Several rocks and dust are thrown into the air as he skids to a halt in front of the building, and quickly turns. He faces Grace and throws out his hoof, motioning for him to hurry. Grace manages to make it to the building, and turns behind him, making sure the air support didn't see him.

"We're good, move in." Tiffon says as he gently opens a door. He places his back to the side of it, and Long Bow leads Flare inside. He, Rook, Mason, Green and Grace wait a few moments, waiting for the all clear.

"What'cha waiting for mates? Come join the party." They hear Flare say with a sarcastic tone. Grace chuckles while Rook just shakes his head. Tiffon leads the way inside, with Rook and Mason right behind him.

"You head in first, I got this area secure for now." Grace says as he raises his wrist, aiming it towards the streets of the town. Green nods, although the young Sergeant can't see it. He enters the door with his wrist pointed forward, just in case there are hostiles inside. Instead, what he sees inside is a bright green room, to the point where it's almost blinding. He groans, and reaches up to his goggles, turning off night vision. The light died down, and the room revealed a cradle, with several couches. Several of the couches had been flipped over, and a refrigerator lay open on the floor. Blood stains mark the room, and several areas have chipped wallpaper. There must have been one hack of a fight in this home. There was a family portrait of two grown ponies, and a newborn foal in their forelegs. Green freezes for a moment, and observes the picture. This was a house, and it used to belong to a family.

"You never get over how bad the blokes made it huh?" He hears from behind. He can tell from the voice that it's flare, and turns around to face him. The Master Sergeant stands there, waiting for the answer from Green. Green sighs and shakes his head.

"No. It's hard to believe there was a time before this, seeing the world the way it is now." He says with a sigh. Green was never one to be a downer, but it really did seem pointless. They had been fighting the changelings non-stop for over a little over eight years, and they had almost nothing to show for it. The changelings still had control over some of the towns, and the ponies had only taken three towns that were possessed by changelings before the war began. He sighs and looks away. He was so sick of all the fighting and bloodshed. He had been doing this for three years, and was already getting tired of it all. Flare places a hoof on his shoulder, and gives him a reassuring pat.

"I don't know how long it'll take, but things will go back to normal. I promise." He says with a nod. Green nods back, and looks over to a set of stairs leading up. Grace enters the room, and is equally shocked by the room.

"Come on. We still have a war to fight." Flare says as he nods to the two Sergeants. He raises his wrist gun and slowly ascends the stairs, making sure not to leave one area unchecked. Green quickly follows his lead, and raises his weapon.

"Stay down! Contacts!" He hears in a hushed whisper. He instantly goes prone, desperate to not be spotted by whatever it is that has been seen. Flare looks down to him, and raises a hoof to his mouth. After giving him a shushing noise, he motions for him to do as he does. He crawls slowly up the stairs, making as little noise as possible. Green's hoof shakes slightly from anxiety, but he's able to keep it under enough control to the point it doesn't make any noise. He reaches the top of the stairs, and sees Mason lying beneath a window, although he's looking up at it. Long Bow and Tiffon on the sides of the window, backs pressed against it. Rook is right behind Long Bow, checking his weapon. Outside the window is darkness, so Green turns his night vision back on. Outside is five changeling air units, so there had to be ground troops nearby. Carefully, he crawls over to the side of the window, and places his back right beside Tiffon. Flare stacks up behind him, while Grace moves behind Rook.

"This is definitely more resistance then we expected, our intel must have been off." Tiffon says as he brings his hoof to his radio.

"Command, this is Alpha, we have a situation, over."

"Roger that Alpha, go ahead."

"Our info was misleading, the changelings have air support, and a lot of it. And there's gotta be at least twice as many ground troops as we though there were. Do we abort?" Green looks out the window, and sees at least twenty ground changelings, all with fire bombs in hoof. Leaning back inside, he places the back of his head against the wall, and looks back over to Tiffon.

"Negative Alpha you are to stay put. We can NOT let that command post stand. The Army and Marines can take over once your finished in there but you are not stepping a HOOF out of line until that moment. Do you copy, Over?" Tiffon sighs as he shakes his head.

"Roger that Command, where's our air support? They were supposed to be here. Over."

"Uh, they made a slight error in calculations, and they won't be arriving for a little while longer. I can establish a long range connection so you can talk to them now if you want. Over."

"Yes Command, get that long range connection up. We need to know what their plan is from here, over." Green hears chatter from outside, and looks over to the window. Carefully, he peaks out as a changeling points at the window, shouting something to his allies. Green quickly pulls back before the changeling can see him.

"This is Major Tiffon, can you hear me, over?" He hears Tiffon say. More chattering comes from outside, and Green starts to get a knot in his stomach.

"Technical Sergeant Darkstar, 52nd Airborne Division. Are you the SGTD team we're being sent in to assist?" He hears. Again there is chatter from the window, and Green hears a hissing. His eyes widen.

"WATCH OUT!" He shouts as he grabs Tiffon and pulls him away from the window. Just when it sounds like he's about to shout at him, an orange trail appears and lands on the middle of the floor. The trail bursts out, throwing fire all over the room, including where Tiffon was standing. Mason stands and fires his wrist gun, the screeching of a changeling confirming his hit.

"Crap! What the heck happened?" Long Bow shouts as Mason ducks down, dodging another bomb. Rook steps in front of the Lieutenant, and leans out towards the window, firing his gun.

"The bloody dirtbags must have tapped into our comms somehow! We've lost the element of surprise!" Flare shouts as he readies his weapon. Green helps the Major to his hooves, and places a hoof on his shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Fine, thanks for pulling me out of the way." Tiffon says while out of breath.

"Hello? What just happened? Somepony come in over!" Green hears over the radio. He carefully ducks behind the window, and takes Mason's place in the window when he needs to reload. Quickly, he adjusts his sights to a flying changeling, who has a fire bomb in hoof, ready to throw. He pulls down on the small lever attached to the side of the gun, and watches as the spikes fly into the hostile. It gives a shout of pain and drops the bomb, which falls onto the ground and detonates on another changeling.

"Tech Sergeant! They tapped into the comms, they know we're here! Get your flanks over here and assist when you can! Out!" Tiffon shouts. Quickly, he takes his radio and shuts it off, and orders his men to do the same. Green pulls away from the window and reaches to his own radio, turning the dial on it to the off position. He watches as Mason takes over at the window, firing with pinpoint accuracy.

"We need a way out of here! We're sitting ducks in this room!"

...

_Just Outside Prance Air Space_

_12:06 Hours (Eastern Time)_

_Technical Sergeant Darkstar, 52nd Airborne Division_

_March 24th _

"Major, come in dang it! Where the heck are you exactly?" Darkstar shouts as he flies faster and faster. The wind is howling in his ears, and is nearly deafening, but he doesn't care. He groans in anger and pumps his wings down even harder, attempting to get as much speed as he can.

"They must have disconnected their radios." Hope says as she barrel rolls away from another set of clouds. She looks down to her watch, and gives an estimated time of two minutes until they reach the city. Hay Bark shakes his head and pumps himself over a large cloud, running along it until he reaches the end. He pushes off of the end of it and launches himself with his wings, trying to gain more momentum and speed as he rushes along.

"Sir, if they tapped into the comms, then they have to know we're on our way, this could be a trap." Niles says as he dives underneath a cirrus cloud, making sure not to charge through it. It didn't hurt or anything, but it did slow you down to charge right through a cloud. And they had to get to the town as fast as they could. Darkstar barrel rolls to the side again, and pushes himself with both wings again.

"We have to risk it. The Army has been notified, and they're on the move right now. Marines will be right behind them, ETA is thirty minutes. Now step on it!" He shouts as he dives underneath a set of clouds. He readies his wrist gun, which carried larger, heavier spikes, but in smaller magazines. These could carry the chemical weapons, or could just be fired regularly, depending on the situation. He dives underneath another set of clouds, and sees the town in view. An alarm has been raised, and he can already see more changeling air support being sent in from the east. He squints and activates his goggles, which give him infrared vision. This degree of infrared could also pick up allies, which would have a flashing green light in it's center. He quickly darts his head around, and sees a group of seven ponies inside a building. All seven have flashing green lights, and he determines this to be the SGTD team.

"Over there! Get to that location and provide air support!" He shouts as he readies a chemical spike into his launcher.

"Roger, I'm going in hot!" Bark shouts as he launches in ahead of the others, both wrist guns pointed forward. Darkstar quickly dives lower, going just above the rooftops. He orders Hope to back up Bark, and has Niles back him up. With haste, he pulls up, going higher into the sky. The team reaches the front of the city, and watch as several changelings go into battle. Darkstar aims his first spike at a group of ground changelings, and fires. As the spike comes into contact with the ground, it expands, giving way to an inner area. A green vapor quickly leaks out of the chamber, bathing the changelings in a poisonous gas. The changelings cough and gag, trying to get the gas out of their lungs. Within seconds, a few drop dead to the ground, while others fall down and begin to have seizure like episodes.

"I got em'! They're in the first building to the right! Get our support over there!" He hears Hope shout from across the way. Darkstar quickly launches himself, and spots spikes coming from a small window on the top floor of a large, eroding brick building. He quickly darts over and launches another poison filled spike at the ground in front of the building. As the gas leaks out, Bark fires both of his wrist guns at the changelings in the air, picking them off one by one. Blood drops to the ground as the changelings find themselves falling into the poisonous gas. The vapor leaks into the window, although it doesn't go any higher. Darkstar holds his breath for a moment, hoping that the SGTD team really did have gas masks.

"The air support! Celestia are we happy to see you guys!" He hears from his radio. He sighs and brings his hoof to his radio, firing off another spike in the meantime.

"We got the air locked down, but there's too many civilians on the ground to keep using the chemical weapons, you have to clear the area out!" He shouts as he fires a regular spike at an air unit. It groans in pain and falls down to the ground, giving an audible smack as it slams into a roof top first. Screams erupt from several buildings, causing Darkstar to look over to several areas. Civilians are being thrown out into the streets, and others are being used as meat shields.

"Blasted things are using the civvies as meat shields! We can't just kill them!" He hears Niles shout. Looking back to AFC, he growls and orders him to find any changelings using the civilians in such a manner, and shoot them from the back. Niles salutes and shoots off, firing at an airborne changeling that was charging at Darkstar. He looks over to the building with the SGTD soldiers, and flies up next to Hope. The mare fires off both wrist guns, picking off several changelings. He fires off yet another poisoned spike, and this time, it lands inside of a building that the changelings are using as a base of sorts.

"Tech Sergeant, this is Major Tiffon, we're heading out there, watch you fire."

...

_Prance, Southern Housing_

_12:12 Hours (Eastern Time)_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SGTD_

_March 24th_

Green uses his strength to bust down the door in front of the building, afterwards raising his hoof and firing at a group of hostiles outside. He rolls off to the side, and fires three more shots before looking back over to the door and seeing the rest of his team sprint out. The green mist around them has no effect on them, thanks to the gas masks. As much as Green hated them sometimes, they did save his life on more than one occasion. Up in the air, he can see four ponies, each carrying a different type of weapon, and all firing everything they have at the changelings.

"The command post is just a little north of us! Let's get moving!" He hears Tiffon shout, who is firing his weapon at a group of hiding changelings. A fire bomb goes off next to Rook, who is thrown to the ground. His suit catches fire, and he gives panicked grunts as he tries to extinguish the flames. Green quickly rushes over, and tells Rook to hold still.

"Go without us! We'll catch up!" He shouts as he tries to get one of the small fires out. Tiffon looks back at him, and shakes his head.

"No! A good soldier never leaves a pony behind!" He shouts as he dives behind cover, barely avoiding the fire of one of the bombs. Mason pops up from an overturned cart and tries to fire at the changelings, but they are hiding behind cover. Another firebomb is thrown, and hits the very front of the cart Mason is behind. He covers his eyes as the cart bursts into flames, nearly hitting him. Green puts out one of the fires on Rooks foreleg, and sees that he has a bad burn on it. Quickly, he drags him over to the Lieutenant, all while Rook fires away at a hostile. He has no luck in hitting it, but his shooting does keep the changelings from coming out of their cover. Civilians are being held behind the changelings, so the air support can't risk taking them out. Rook groans in pain as the fires go out on his foreleg and lower stomach, but leave badly burned flesh, devoid of any fur.

"Just patch me up! Get me back in this!" He shouts as Long Bow begins to take a look at him. To the right of them, Flare searches a dead changeling, and takes one of their fire bombs. He tosses it into the air before catching it again. He observes it for a second before finding a pin. It begins to hiss, and Flare tosses it over to the changelings. Green ducks behind cover as another fire bomb is thrown at them. The fire just barely misses his face, but he can still feel the heat as it rushes past his snout. He breathes heavily as he tries to remain calm, and fires his wrist gun again.

"Moving up!" He hears Tiffon shout as he sprints forward, diving to cover after about twenty steps. Green looks over to Long Bow, who has just finished wrapping bandages around Rook's ankles and mid section.

"Can you still walk?"

"I wouldn't be where I am today if I couldn't take a couple burn wounds here and there." Rook says as he shakily stands up. Green nods and sprints away, leaping once he gets over to where Grace is. The team continues to push on for about ten minutes, until Grace sees a strange building with a corrupted horn as a flag.

"I see it! That must be the command post!" He shouts as he fires off a few more spikes. Green looks over to the direction he is shooting, and sees a large, oval shaped building with a changeling flag on it.

"Well what are we waiting for? Get the air support to poison it!" Mason shouts as he ducks behind a building, dodging a burst of flames from a fire bomb.

"Negative! That building could have civilians inside! And the changelings that are falling back still have those hostages from before!" Tiffon shouts as he pops up and fires three more spikes. A clicking is heard, and the Major ducks back down, throwing the empty roll off of his wrist.

"Tech Sergeant! Do you have any infrared optics you could use to check for civvies in the building, over?" Tiffon shouts as he switches out the empty roll for a fresh one.

"Roger Major, I have such optics. I'll use them on the building and report back to you, over." Green hears. He pops up, and tries to fire his weapon, but hears a clicking. He's out of ammo. He gives an annoyed groan and ducks back down, trying to reload his gun. Carefully, he strips away the empty roll of spike holders, and reaches into a pocket along his black suit for a new one. He slams it into place as he hears the Technical Sergeant give his report. The building is clear of civilians except on the third floor, where the main control room was. All three floors have windows, but the one on the first floor is reinforced with planks of wood, making it impossible to shoot through. Tiffon pushes forward again, and the changelings burst into the building, throwing open the doors with the civilians in front of them as meat shields. One throws a fire bomb, which detonates near Tiffon. He's mostly unscathed, but his leg has caught fire.

"No good pony rip off!" He shouts as he extinguishes the flame. While he luckily has no severe burn, this distraction has given the changelings enough time to shut the door.

"Dang it! We're stuck out here!" Long Bow shouts as he leaps from cover. Green leaps over his cover as well, making sure the Rook is behind him. Grace follows beside him, and sprints over as more changelings begin to close in from the sides. Darkstar fires a poison spike, which prevents them from getting closer.

"Use the firebombs you collected Flare! See if those can weaken it enough to get us in!" Tiffon shouts as he pounds on the door, which seems to be reinforced. Flare nods and grabs one of the fire bombs from his pocket, and pulls a pin on it. Tiffon and the rest of team back away from the door, as the hissing from the bomb screams as it sails through the air, and eventually onto the door. The bomb causes the door to give a severe cracking sound, and it starts to fall over.

"Alright! Way to go SF!" Green shouts as he slams his hooves into the door, denting it severely. He hits it a few more times, and it gives a loud creaking noise as it falls down. The changelings inside are taken aback, and have let go of the hostages. Green quickly fires a spike at a changeling, who falls dead to the floor as it penetrates his skull with a red mist. Rook and Mason fire their weapons as well, killing the other changelings in the room. One of the civilians panics and runs around the room. Another, a child, begins to cry and runs for a mare to the right of the room. The mother cries as she embraces her foal, saying words of relief to the kid.

"Stay here." Long Bow says as he rushes up a group of stairs. Green looks up to the mare, and recognizes it as the one from the photo. He could only imagine what kind of torture their family must have gone through. He nods at them and charges up the stairs as Tiffon orders Darkstar to fire a poison spike into the second floor. As Green reaches the top of the stairs, he sees a green mist, with gasping and writhing changelings desperate for air. He shoves one gasping one aside as he heads for the next set of stairs. Grace comes along with him, with Flare right behind them. A door is at the top of the stair well, and Green shoves it open with his shoulder. A large group of changelings waits for them, ready with fire bombs. A group of spikes flies in from the windows, striking down the changelings with immediate firebombs. The Air Force sure did come in handy. Rook and Long Bow come in from behind the others and begin firing, assisting Grace and Flare. A changeling tries to take cover, but Mason comes out and fires at it before it can. Tiffon finally manages to reach the floor, and sees the several bound and gagged ponies in chairs.

"Easy, you're safe now." He says as he unties one. The pony gasps for fresh air, and breathing loudly and quickly. He gulps, and sighs in relief as he sees the other ponies become freed. Green looks over to a large monitor, which contains the radio conversations from earlier in bold, red letters.

"So that's how they knew we were here." He says as he steps closer. He sees a orange tail fling towards it, and burst into flames once it detonates. Feeling the intense heat from the fire, he jumps back, and looks behind him to Flare. The stallion shrugs, and tosses another one at what looks like a hard drive. Green sighs with relief, bringing his hoof to his head to relieve sweat.

"Command, this is Alpha. Command Post is secure, send in the big guns, out." He hears Tiffon say. Green feels a tap on his shoulder, and turns behind him to see Rook standing there. The Staff Sergeant looks around the room with an angry expression, appearing to be embarrassed. Just as Green is about to open his mouth, Rook speaks.

"Thanks for saving my flank back at the building back there. They might have gotten me if you hadn't." He looks left to right, then leans in to Green.

"Don't tell anypony I said that." He says with a hint of aggravation in his voice. Green smiles.

"Sure thing, and don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." He says. Rook nods and walks away, and Green looks around to the rest of his team. For the first time, he felt like he really did contribute to this effort. Sure, some things went wrong, but he had managed to win the day at the very least.

"Alright boys, pack up your gear and get moving, we're going home." Tiffon says as he takes off his gas mask and escorts the civilians down stairs. The gas has worn off by now, and has been dissolved by the fresh air particles. Not fast enough to prevent changelings from dying, but enough to allow the civvies safe passage. Green sighs with satisfaction and heads down the stairs, ready to get back to the shooting range.

**OCs in this chapter:**

**Technical Sergeant Darkstar - Eddie201**


	4. A Day On Base

**A/N Hey guys. On Wednesday, I'm heading out to a camp with my family for about ten days, so I won't be able to update for that duration. Sorry for the news, but I'll see if I can get in a few one shots while I'm there.**

_Baltimare, SGTD Base "Bravo" (Housing Area)_

_15:12 Hours_

_Major Joshua Tiffon, SGTD_

_March 25th _

Tiffon tossed aside his gas mask, throwing it onto the desk. He tried to walk forward, but his leg gave a small shot of pain as he moved. He groaned and shook it, trying to get it used to moving. Keeping pressure off of it hadn't made the soreness go away like he thought it would. Now, he had to walk on it and get it used to moving. Those fire bombs were devastating, it was no wonder those things sent soldiers out of commission. He sighed and walked into his house, looking around. His house was a decently sized one, with a second floor and a basement. The main floor was decorated with a red carpet, and blue paint on the walls. Pictures hung from the walls, some of him and his wife, others of him and his son, and others of all three of them. Some had only her and his son, but he didn't mind. As he entered the main den, he heard something that made him smile.

"He's home! Mommy daddy's home!" A high voice said. Rushing down a flight of stairs to his right was a small, blue colt. He has an enormous smile, that almost appeared to be bigger than his eyes. He chuckled and walked over to the colt. His son leaped into his arms, giving him a large bear hug.

"Hey bud." Tiffon said as he released him. The blue colt tapped his hooves against the floor in excitement, something that was because of his hyperactive personality. It was supposed to be just a phase, but Tiffon had a feeling that he would keep some of it along with him, even when he grew up. But for now, it was alright. After all, he was only four years old. His son went on a rant about how he was excited to see him, and was ready to play some basketball with him. Tiffon smiled and chuckled as his son began to bounce in excitement. He was unlike him and his wife in his outgoing ways, so he must have gotten that from Tiffon's parents.

"We'll play some ball in a minute Bane, right now I need to talk to your mommy. Okay?" He said with a smile. Bane nodded and pointed upstairs, his yellow mane nearly hitting his father.

"Okay! She's upstairs, but HURRY! I wanna play!" He shouts with a pleading voice. He gives his dad a pouting face, and Tiffon just chuckles. He ruffles his son's mane and walks up the first step. Along the top of the stairs is another picture, this one of his wife holding Bane for the first time, with Tiffon standing beside her. Both of them were staring at the foal in her arms, smiling as they watched him sleep peacefully. He smiled. If it was possible to grow when you were proud, Tiffon would have grown a foot when his wife had given birth. He reached the top of the steps, and looked around, searching for his room. The second floor had the same color of paint on the wall as the first floor, but the carpet was softer, and blue. Tiffon turned when he reached the second door to his left, and opened it softly. Standing near a desk, dusting it off was Fluttershy. She heard him come in, and turned her head to face him. She spat out the duster and smiled at him.

"Hi Joshy." She said quietly. Tiffon smiled back, staring back into her crystal blue eyes. Her mane gently swished around to her face, covering half of her left eye.

"Hey Fluttershy." He said as he walked closer. Upon reaching her, he moved away the part of her mane that was covering her eye, and smiled. He never did figure out why she went for him. Maybe it was because he wasn't as outgoing as some other ponies. The only reason he was a Major in this war was because his father had been a Royal Guard, and had been training him to be one. Of course, his training had ended when his father was KIA when trying to evacuate Princess Celestia to the mountain tops. He had never been more devastated, and vowed to fight for others. So that other children and families would never get a chance to suffer the pain he did when his dad died. His first assignment had been in an SGTD training camp in Ponyville, which was where he had met Fluttershy. Being shy, she was never one to come up and talk to him, but he eventually worked up enough courage to talk to her. When his training was finished, he had become a dedicated coltfriend to the delicate mare, and both were devastated when they found out he was being transferred to Baltimare. However, the Garrison had offered to move Fluttershy and her animals near the compound, so that he would be able to see her. She accepted hastily, since she said that a majority of her friends had left the town to participate in the war effort anyway. Three years later, they got married, and a year after that, Bane came along.

"How was it out there?" She asked with concern in her voice. Tiffon sighed and looked down to the floor.

"Same crap, just happened to my unit this time around. Rook got wounded, and Mason is still giving the new guy a hard time." He said calmly. Fluttershy frowned.

"T...That's not why I asked..." She said quietly as she pointed to his hind leg. He looked behind him, seeing the burn mark on it. It wasn't serious, but it was still enough to concern his wife. After all, she was the representative of Kindness, so it only made sense she worried about injuries. He smiled and placed his hoof on her face, rubbing it gently.

"Don't worry about it, I feel fine." He said with a smile. Fluttershy nodded, but still seemed upset. Tiffon gently placed a foreleg on her shoulder and planted a kiss on her forehead. Pulling away, he raised her chin with his hoof, and smiled at her.

"What else is bothering you?" He asked calmly. She looked up to him, her eyes beginning to form small tears. Tiffon lost his smile, and looked at his wife in concern. He always hated seeing her upset, something that would never change. If she was upset, he would always be there to comfort her. Fluttershy sniffed and looked down at the ground.

"I... I'm scared..." She said with a shaky voice. Tiffon sat both of them down on their bed, and wrapped a foreleg around her.

"What are you scared of honey? Did something happen?" He asked with care in his voice. She looked over to him, and stared at him with sad eyes for a while. Her mane had covered half of her face again, and Tiffon carefully brushed it to the side with his hoof.

"I... I'm not scared of something here... I... I'm scared for y... you..." She said as she placed her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his other foreleg around her, and held her close. He placed his chin on top of her, allowing her to rest her head on his neck. This wasn't the first time she had admitted her fear for him. She was terrified at the idea of him getting hurt or killed on the field, and she was always seeking support from others when he wasn't at the base. Once, she had nearly had a mental breakdown when she heard that his convoy was ambushed. She only calmed down when he had arrived home from the hospital with a broken leg, which of course only added to her fear that something worse could happen. Tiffon gently kissed the top of her forehead again, then leaned his cheek against her forehead. Her tears strolled down his neck, and she nestled her head a little further into his neck.

"I promise, I won't let anything happen to me... I'll be here for you and Duck Bane..." He said while rubbing her foreleg. He heard her sniff, and she sat up straight. Her eyes were a light pink color from the tears. She nodded and looked into his eyes. He looked down to her stomach, and smiled.

"And our little girl." He said as he placed his hoof on her belly. She chuckled and placed her hooves on top of his. She smiled, and stared down at her abdomen. They had found out she was pregnant with a baby girl three months ago, and she had been overjoyed at the news. Bane wasn't sure about having somepony else around, but Tiffon promised that he would still play ball with him at least once a week. Fluttershy had also promised that she would spend time with him too, he just have to understand that his little sister would need attention too. Tiffon smiled and rubbed her stomach. He loved feeling her belly, trying to find where the baby was. There was nothing more magical than holding a tiny foal's hoof with just the tip of your hoof. He looked up to her, finding her smiling at her stomach as well.

"Have you thought about what you wanted to name her?" He asked. Fluttershy looked up to him, and chuckled. Tiffon had already been the one to name Bane, so he promised her that she would get to name their next child. She looked back down to her belly, and rubbed it slowly.

"I can't decide... I really want her name to be Angel, but... I think that having a baby named Hazel would be so adorable... I don't know." She said quietly. He smiled and leaned his next to hers, and placed his other hoof on top hers.

"Those are both beautiful names." He said happily. She smiled and looked up to him. They shared a brief kiss before Bane called from downstairs;

"Dad! Hurry up! I wanna play ball!" He shouted with a whiney voice. Tiffon sighed and stood up.

"Honestly, I don't know where that colt gets it from! Even my dad wasn't THAT hyper." He said with a chuckle. Fluttershy giggled, and stood up. She kissed his cheek, rubbed his cheek with her head.

"Well... Unless you want him to start pouting... I would get going..." She said with a smile. Tiffon chuckled. He changed out of his uniform, and kissed his wife goodbye. Bane was already half way out the door when he got downstairs. Tiffon chuckled as he walked out the door behind him.

"Maybe I should have named him Nut Case..."

_..._

_Cloudsdale, Eagle Headquarters_

_15:12 Hours_

_Technical Sergeant Darkstar (Official Rank)_

_March 25th_

Darkstar sighed as he sat in the barracks of his new HQ. Yesterday he had been informed that he would be transferred to a joint unit, a Garrison squad that was funded, founded, and run by the Air Force. The last stallion was killed in action in a failed attack on the red zone. The red zone was named due to the high amounts of bloodshed that went on there, and was actually a group of three cities that were strung together. The Army and Marines had been attacking it non-stop for two months now, with no progression on either side. Because the guy got killed, Darkstar was the prime choice to be his replacement because of his experience. Experience? He had been fighting for five years. Yeah, that was more than most, but some were fighting since the war began, why not pick one of them? He had only gotten twenty-four hours to pack up and say good bye to his soldiers, which had pretty much become family to him.

"Darkstar?" He heard. Turning his head, he saw a sky blue stallion, standing authoritatively in front of him. His mane was a fiery orange color, and his cutie mark was two crossed lightning bolts. The stallion observed him, trying to size him up. Darkstar wasn't exactly a detective, but he did recognize the stallion as the leader, seeing as he carried a patch that contained wings and a skull. As opposed to his, which contained just wings and a banner that read 'Eagle Squadron'. He stood at attention, and raised his right foreleg to his forehead, giving him a salute.

"Technical Sergeant Darkstar, reporting." He said respectfully. The leader shook his head.

"Hate to break it to you Tech Sarge, but you've been demoted to the rank of 'Trooper'. Nothing you did wrong, it's just something we do in the Squadron to make sure new guys don't think they're superior to more experienced, lower ranked operators. You'll still be referred to as a Technical Sergeant in your records, and receive the same pay, but in the field, it's Eagle Trooper Darkstar, not Tech Sergeant." He said bluntly. Darkstar frowned, but kept his foreleg at his forehead. That hadn't been mentioned, and he was slightly insulted that the operators thought he would push around lower ranked soldiers. If he thought like that, he would have been disrespectful to lower ranked SGTD operators he worked with. The leader looked up to his hoof and nodded.

"At ease Trooper." Darkstar lowered his hoof, and placed it on the ground. The leader told him to follow him. The stallion said that his name and rank was Captain Lancaster. As Lancaster walked around, giving Darkstar a tour of the base, he told him about the history of the Eagle Squadron. It had been formed two years ago, by none other than Lancaster himself. After serving in the Air Force for six years, he formed his own elite squad that participated in aerial operations considered to dangerous for regular airborne units. The Squadron received training from the Air Force and the Garrison's Echo Force. The tour itself was rather short, as the Squadron only consisted of five. He was the new fifth operator, the first time a new addition had ever been made to the squad. Within minutes, all that was left was to show him the rest of the team, and all of them were in the resting area. The building was, of course, made of clouds, but the clouds had been altered somehow to look like regular buildings. It carried a single floor, but was a very wide building, stretching a good length of the compound.

"These guys are like family to me, so be respectful. Otherwise I'll run you through with a combat knife." Lancaster said harshly. Truth be told, he probably wasn't going to do that, but he would make Darkstar's life hell. And that was a chance that he was neither willing, nor wanted to take. Lancaster opened the door to the area, revealing a collection of tiles, something that was hard to get into a cloud building. The tile was black, indicating that it was a serious area. There were a few bunk beds to the side of the wall, while dressers and intelligence filing areas on the other side. On the bottom bunk was a light red stallion with a maroon colored mane. He was reading a book, and didn't seem to notice him and the Captain come in.

"That's Sergeant Hawk, he's our heavy weapons expert. His back story is a mystery to us, but he's a good friend, and very protective of his friends. And his stuff, so don't touch it." Lancaster said with a serious tone. Darkstar sighed and shook his head. What was with all of this distrust? Honestly, Darkstar felt more like a changeling to these ponies than a new addition. He was never this harsh to Niles when he first joined. Hawk looked over to the two, and nodded at Darkstar.

"This the new guy?" He asked with a bored expression. Lancaster nodded, and Hawk carefully got up from the bed. Darkstar could now see the Sergeant's cutie mark, which was a white wing. Hawk checked out Darkstar's wings, even going so far as to pull one of the open and inspect it. Darkstar felt somewhat violated, but he didn't want to get off on the wrong hoof with these guys. Hawk gave a half nod, and released his wing.

"Not bad. I've seen better, but he seems like a strong one." He said with a somewhat impressed tone. Darkstar rose an eyebrow, and looked over to Lancaster. The stallion just told him to forget about it, and led him into another room. In this room was a grey stallion with a black mane sitting on a couch. He was in a comfortable position, and had his head placed on the back of his hooves as he observed a TV. His back legs were positioned on a table in the center of the room, and he seemed very relaxed. He was smiling, possibly because what he was watching was interesting. Further down, at a desk, was a younger looking, and rather attractive mare with a light blue coat and a deep twilight blue mane. She was sitting in a chair with headphones on. Also on the desk were large sheets of paper, maps, and pictures of several different cities, each of a different area of the cities. There were also drawing of nature on the wall in front of the desk. Unlike the stallion, he was able to see her cutie mark, a shooting star. The grey stallion turned to face the Captain, and instantly saw Darkstar. He hopped up, and rushed over to him.

"Well, if isn't the new guy! Nice to meet you." He said as he stuck out a hoof. Darkstar observed it for a moment, and then shook his hoof.

"Darkstar..." He said slowly. The stallion nodded and released his hoof. Placing it on his chest, he smile grew larger.

"Nice to meet you Darkstar! I'm Sergeant Ace, the joker of the team." He said proudly. Why he was proud to be the joker was beyond Darkstar, but it didn't really matter to him. Now that he had a better look at him, Darkstar could now make out his cutie mark, which was exactly the same as the mare's. This confused him slightly, but he shook it off. Lancaster was about to speak, but Ace interrupted him.

"Why don't you let me give the new guy the rest of the tour Cap? I need to get moving anyway." He said. Lancaster pondered this for a moment, but ultimately agreed. He welcomed Darkstar to the team, and exited the room. Ace placed a foreleg around Darkstar's neck, and began to speak.

"Don't worry about Lancaster, he's just a bit shaken by Gnome's death. Heck, we all are I guess, but hey, life goes on." He said calmly. Darkstar rose an eyebrow and pulled away, watching as Ace's hoof fell of him. Ace chuckled.

"Sorry, I'm real friendly, didn't mean to creep you out." He said with a smile. Darkstar nodded and looked back over to the mare, who was still busy with what she was doing. She began to draw a hilltop, and Ace noticed him staring at her. He smiled.

"That's my sister, Spectrum. She's the mapping specialist, but she's not afraid to bust a few skulls." Ace said with pride. Darkstar nodded, and looked back over to Ace. He had his forelegs crossed, and kept himself in an upright position with his wings. Looking back over to Darkstar, he raised a foreleg to his sister.

"Want me to introduce you?" He asked. Darkstar looked back over to the mare. She was now placing pins in several different parts of the map, holding one's she wasn't using in her mouth. Turning back to Ace, he nodded. The two walked over to the mare, where Ace tapped Spectrum on her shoulder.

"Hey little sis, met the new guy yet?" He asked. Spectrum sighed and placed the pins she was using next to the pictures. She took off the headphones, and began to speak.

"Ace, I'm a little busy right now. I'm not in the mood for your..." She began to say, but she froze when she saw Darkstar. She blushed and looked down to the map, and rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Ace has been making false alarms all day... I didn't mean to..." She said. Darkstar shook his head, and told her that it was fine. The mare gave an embarrassed chuckle and stood, raising her hoof to Darkstar.

"I'm Spectrum, I record enemy hotspots and make routes for our team to operate in." She said calmly. Darkstar smiled and shook her hoof.

"My name's Darkstar. I'm a seize and dominate support pilot. Or at least I was." He said. Spectrum chuckled and lowered her hoof. Ace looked over to him, and gave an impressed nod.

"Seize and dominate? Those are some long missions, takes a lot of endurance to finish em'." He said. Darkstar shrugged, as though it were no big deal. Truth be told, it really wasn't. At least not to him. Spectrum asked if he had any specialties, and Darkstar told the two that he was skilled with chemical weapons and heavy loads. Spectrum seemed intrigued by the chemical weaponry, but Ace seemed to be more interested in how heavy the largest load he had ever carried was. Before they got to far into it, Ace remembered that he had show him around.

"Maybe I should go with you. No offense bro, but you tend to ramble when you explain things." Spectrum said with a raised eyebrow. Ace shrugged, saying that it seemed fair enough. Darkstar asked if he was going to be baby sat all the time, which made Spectrum and Ace chuckle. At least two of his new team mates liked him.

**OCs in this chapter:**

**Eagle Squadron and Members - Lyra Heartstrings14**


	5. Trouble in the Red Zone

**A/N Change of plans, not leaving till Friday. Still, this will probably be the last chapter I post for a while.**

_Seaddle, "Red Zone"_

_11:12 Hours_

_Master Sergeant Gear, Equestrian Army 75th Regiment_

_March 27th_

Gear quickly used his wrench to tighten the last screw on the turret. An explosion blew him back, and he felt shrapnel dig into his foreleg. He gave a quick groan of pain, but shook it off. With a solid slam of his hoof, he stuck the turret in the ground, providing more desired cover for his regiment. The 75th Regiment was the best the Army had to offer, and were equipped with almost as much gear as a typical Marine squad. Gear, being an engineer, actually had more equipment than a Marine carried, that way he could repair any machines or vehicles that were knocked out. He had been in the Army for five years, and the Regiment for three. He was a relatively small stallion compared to his allies, but that allowed him to move around rather quickly. Smaller targets are harder to hit anyways. He had a light grey mane and a dark grey mane. Nopony knew what color his eyes were, because he always kept them covered with goggles. Even when he slept. It wasn't that he had a scar or anything, he just didn't like being made fun of because his eyes were different colors. One was green, and the other was blue.

"Gear! I need some help over here!" He heard somepony shout. Looking to his right, he sees another soldier pinned down inside of a trench. Trench fighting. This type of fighting helped keep ponies safe, but it drew out the battles. Still, Gear would rather fight three months and lose two hundred soldiers than fight three days and lose two thousand soldiers in a direct attack. Gear crawls in the trenches, watching as a soldier gets hit in the face with fire. He screams in pain as he desperately tries to douse the fire. A medic makes sure to rush over to him, and begins to treat the burn as a mare sets up to take his place. Gear reaches the end of the trench he is in, and looks out to the battlefield. A changeling spots him and fires a harpoon at him, but Gear is able to dodge it. Harpoons were very large spike shooters, and while you could only fire one at a time before reloading, it expanded. This allowed it to take out multiple targets at once. The Army wasn't equipped with such fire, that belonged to the Marines. Gear brings out a flash rock, a device carried by engineers to disable electronic weapons, which is what a harpoon was. The effects only lasted twenty seconds, but that would still be enough time for him to make it to the next trench. He breathes steadily, and throws the flash rock at the changeling. He hears a loud boom, a characteristic of the device. Hastily, he sprints as fast as he can, making sure to dodge fire bombs thrown his way. One detonates right behind him, and lights his tail on fire. He slides downward, and reaches the trench as he notices this. Quickly, he bats down his tail, leaving charred hair in place of the flames.

"Eh... Seen worse." He mumbles to himself as he goes prone. Bringing up his wrist gun, he can see it's low on shots, since he was using a more powerful, two shot kill weapon that only carried ten shots. Unless you hit them in the head, neck, or middle of the chest. Those were instant kills, needless to say. Breathing steadily, he pops us quickly and fires a shot, but is unable to hit a target. Another harpoon is fired at him, and he has to duck to avoid it. He can hear it whine in the air as it shoots past him, nearly hitting his skull. He shakes his head, these changelings must have liked wasting ammo. Their aim with a harpoon was horrible. He shakes it off and crawls over to the soldier who requested his help. The pony is Cole, a foal hood friend of his with a black mane and white coat. His cutie mark was similar to his, but was a single yellow cog instead of three silver ones. Cole was a heavy weapons specialist, and could easily handle himself in the field. He was never afraid to ask for help when he needed it though.

"Gear, would you mind grabbing me some more ammo? I'm a little light." He says with a chuckle. Gear stares at him a moment. That was really what he needed him for? Ammo?

"I have more important things to do than keep your gun stocked up." Gear said with a shake of his head.

"Aw come on Gear! I can't send these pony rejects to hell if I don't have spikes to do it!" He said with a laugh. Gear froze for a moment, and looked over to his friend. There was a ridiculous smile on his face as he whooped and fired randomly at the hostiles. Gear face hoofed and mumbled to himself.

"ENEMY EDB! INCOMING!" Somepony shouted. Gear looked above the trench, seeing a large box flying at them. EDB. The EDB, or Explosive Drop Box, was a box that was filled with a form of powder hoof made by changelings. Also included were nails, tacks, and other sharp items for killing infantry units. When lit on fire, the box would ignite into flames in ten seconds, then explode five seconds later. The box itself was massive, and could level a building if used properly. Quickly, Gear ducks down and places his hooves over his head, trying to protect himself. Cole still stays up, firing at the box, trying to make it detonate before hoof. He is unsuccessful, and the box lands right in front of the trench. Cole finally realizes the severity of the situation, and ducks. The box bursts, sending out waves of fires and shrapnel. Gear feels dirt and sand get blown onto him, and tries to form himself into a ball to prevent damage. Unfortunately, other soldiers are not as lucky as him, and Gear can hear several screams of agony. Looking back up, Gear can see three dead soldiers, one is black and charred, one has three nails in his face, and two in his neck, while the last one has half of his head blown off. Gear shakes his head.

"Well that didn't go well..." He says nonchalantly. Death really didn't effect Gear anymore, he saw it every day. It's a war, ponies are going to die. And he was okay with that. Heck, he was sure that he would end up amongst the dead before this thing ended. He wasn't gonna try to get himself killed, but he was sure he would meet his fate at the hooves of the changelings. Cole pops up and starts firing again, as a pony calls over to him for assistance.

"Sir! The EDB knocked out one of the turrets! Our left flank is completely exposed!" The pony shouts as Gear looks over to him. This one is a mare, but a skilled one. Sergeant Joyce, a sharpshooter. Her weapon was only a semi-auto, but that didn't really matter since every hit was a kill with her. Her green coat is covered in dirt, as well as a bit of black war paint. Gear makes his way over to her as another fire bomb goes off behind him, nearly catching his tail on fire again. Remaining calm, he crawls over to the sergeant, and asks where the turret is.

"There! Two yards to the west! I'd do it myself but I don't know how that dang thing works!" She shouts as she covers her head with her hoof. Another harpoon is fired, and this time, it strikes two soldiers. Gear looks over the trench, and sees several changelings moving up. They are trying to gain more ground and obtain better cover while their defenses are down. Gear would fix that. Looking over, he sees the turret the Sergeant is referring to. The device is smoking, and is pointed downward at the ground, rather than forward like it should be. Gear looks back to Joyce, and says two words.

"Cover me." Before the mare can process this, he sprints up from the trench, going for the turret. Fire bombs detonate behind, beside, and in front of him, but he is able to dodge them all. Back in the trench, Joyce does her best to pinpoint the enemy positions. Gear slides to a halt in front of the turret, which is blocked from most of the fire by cement blockades. Gear quickly undoes a latch that covers the turret's processing unit, and inspects it. A nail is lodged in it, coming from the front of the turret. Gear mumbles to himself. This would take a while to fix.

...

_Seaddle, "Red Zone" (Changeling Territory)_

_11:25 Hours_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SGTD_

_March 27th_

Green ducked behind the window, watching as a changeling rushed past him. The SGTD had been sent in to sabotage the changeling supply lines. Reduced supplies would force them to fall back from the city, giving the ponies an advantage in the Red Zone. What had disgusted Green was not getting the orders to come in, but seeing that the town still had civilians inside. The changelings had not killed all of them yet, and were just drawing out their deaths. One thing that made Green sick to his stomach to see was watching a changeling squad skin a stallion, all while a mare was held back, forced to watch. It took all his will power to stay put.

"Patrol... Five Meters..." He heard from the side. Tiffon points out the window, trying to make sure the whole squad can see them. Sure enough, a squad of changelings are right outside the window. What Tiffon didn't mention was that they were terrorizing a family. One changeling brought out a large blue stallion, throwing him onto the ground. Green ached to put a spike through it's head, but he had to maintain his cover. Besides, the general's words still rang in his skull. He had to remain focused on the mission, not saving civilians. Hard as that may be. Another changeling came outside, holding a mare with the same coat color as the stallion. The mare was weeping, and it was obvious that she had been hit by the changelings.

"Those sick douches..." Mason said with a shake of his head. For once, Green and Mason actually agreed on something.

"These need to go down..." Rook said with frustration in his voice.

"All in due time Staff Sergeant. All in due time..." Long Bow said calmly. Green crouched down, making sure not to be spotted. Just when he thought that things couldn't be worse for that family, he saw something that made his heart sink. A young, light blue, dark blue maned unicorn filly, like her parents, was being forcefully pulled out of the building. If she started crying the changelings would laugh and make fun of her. Green growled and squeezed the side of the window harder, outraged at the changelings.

"Stay put Green..." Tiffon says calmly. Green nearly shouts at him, but manages to suppress his emotions. How could Tiffon be so calm about this? He had a kid right? How could he stand to watch this?

"What do we do with them?" A changeling asks as he claws the stallion's face. The stallion angrily spits blood at the changeling, causing it to smack him again. The mare and filly start bawling, and beg the changelings to leave him alone. Another changeling, the one that appears to be the leader, and angrily frowns at each member of the family.

"We may have use for the little one..." He says calmly. At this the stallion leaps against the changelings holding him back, but is unable to break free.

"DON'T YOU FREAKING TOUCH MY BABY GIRL!" He shouted with anger and hatred in his voice. The changeling from before once again smacked him, causing the girl to tear up. The mare brings the filly close to her, and begs the changelings not to take her. However, the creatures do not listen, and laugh as they toss the mare aside. Green growls again.

"I can't just sit here and watch!" He whispered to Tiffon. The Major looks over to him, a sympathetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry Sergeant, but there's nothing we can do. We just have to sit here and wait them out. She'll be okay when the Army and Marines breakthrough." Tiffon says with certainty in his voice. Green angrily glares at him, and is about to talk back when he hears a scream of pain. Growing wide eyed, he turns his attention back over to the family, and sees that the stallion has been stabbed with a knife.

"NO! BLIZZARD NO!" The mare shouts with tears in her eyes. The filly gasps for air between her sobs, screaming the word 'daddy' over and over again. The stallion looks at his family, and coughs up blood as a tear falls from his eye. The changelings toss aside the body of the father, and stab him in the head to make sure he's dead. Green growls even harder now.

"Those ruthless... Heartless..." He says as his voice grows deeper. Between every word is a growl, and he angrily readies his wrist gun. Grace pulls it down, pinning Green's hoof onto the window.

"We can't blow our cover! I'm sorry... But the Major's right... We have to wait this out." He says with a sad look in his eye. Green rips his hoof away, and shakes his head as he turns his head back to the scene before him. The changelings turn back to the girl, and the mare steps in front of her.

"Please... no... not my baby... please..." She says with a trembling voice. A changeling grabs the mare by her horn, and drags her to him. The mare whimpers in pain as the filly tries to reach her mother, but two changelings hold her back. Another squad of changelings pass by, running to get to the battlefield. Green raises up from his crouched position, but Rook pulls him back down forcefully.

"Stay down!" He says in a normal voice, rather than a whisper. Green growls again and looks at the girl, who is watching her mother get beaten savagely.

"Don't interfere you worthless sack of meat!" The changeling leader shouts as he smacks the mare over and over again. The filly cries out, begging for them to stop. The changeling stops, and smiles for a moment.

"Very well... If the child does not want us to hurt the mother... We won't." The changeling said with a snake like voice. The filly smiles and looks over to her mother, who is telling her things will be okay. Green shakes his head. He already knew what was coming. He had seen it too many times to think something else would happen without him stepping in.

"Please no..." Green says as the changeling throws the mare to the ground. The filly tries to rush over to her, but the changelings hold her back still. The mare is stabbed with a knife, landing in her abdomen. The filly bursts out crying, and screams out for her mother. The mare is pouring out tears, but is not crying. She looks to her child as she is stabbed in her abdomen again.

"Baby... It's going to be okay for you..." She says with a shaky voice. The filly stops for a moment and nods, sniffing. The changeling plunges his knife into the mare's heart, swiping it downwards as the mare chokes out her breath. The filly cries softly, watching as a large squirt of blood flies out of her mother. Green slams his hoof on the window frame. This was more than he could take... He had to do something!

"Now... What about the girl?" One of the changelings ask. The ones holding her throw her to the ground, causing her head to smack against the ground. Green grits his teeth so hard they feel like they may break, but he stays put. If one more thing started to happen... The lead changelings looks over her, and reaches out to her face. The filly pulls away and whimpers in fear, but the changeling does something unexpected. He gently begins to stroke her face, and smiles fiendishly.

"Oh... Don't tell me..." Rook says with a disgusted tone. Grace gags and looks away, while Tiffon sits there, seemingly paralyzed.

"I think we can fun with the child..." The changeling says devilishly. The filly looks at them with fear, as all the changelings around her smile with a fiendish grin. Green angrily growls again, this time much deeper.

"Bring her along, and we can get started." The changeling says with an evil grin. The changelings chuckle, making the girl shiver with fear. She doesn't fight back, as she is paralyzed with fear.

"THAT IS IT!" Green shouts. Before anypony can stop him, he leaps out the window and aims his weapon at the changelings as they load the girl onto their backs. The changelings jump back in surprise, and Green fires three spikes into the leader's head. The other changelings shout out that there is an intruder, and Green fires seven more spikes through two more changelings.

"Nice going Evergreen! Now they know we're here!" Rook shouts as he leaps out the window and fires. Mason follows suit, and the three stallions take down the squad of changelings. The filly backs away in fear once more, frightened by the black suits of the stallions. An alarm sounds as Green gets close to the girl, and Tiffon looks at him with anger in his eyes. The goggles they were wearing differed from the gas mask lens, now they could see emotion in the pony they looked at. Even with black masks covering the rest of their face.

"You've put this whole mission at stake Sergeant! A lot of our guys are gonna die because of you!" He angrily shouts as he leads Long Bow and Grace out of the building. A group of changelings appear from the left, and Green fires three shots at each one. The filly is crying again, and Green kneels down. Upon close inspection, Green can see a silver line in the middle of the child's mane.

"Come with us, we can keep you safe." He says with a sympathetic voice. The filly looks around with uncertainty.

"My... My... Mommy... Daddy... You..." She says with sorrow and fear in her voice.

"Sergeant we don't have time for this crap! Grab the girl and let's go!" Tiffon shouts as he fires at a group of oncoming changelings. Green nods and grabs the girl gently, although she struggles and fights back. He gently sets her on his back as she begins crying again. Grace pulls out a small canister from his pack, and pulls a pin.

"Smoke out!" He shouts as he throws it down on the ground. The can erupts into a large puff of grey smoke, and the changelings begin to gasp.

"This way!" Tiffon shouts as he points to a small alley way. Green takes off in that direction, making sure the filly has a tight grip on his neck. The team rushes through alley after alley, eventually coming along an abandoned building. Flare breaks down the door, and looks back to the others.

"We don't have the luxury to waste time here! Move!" He shouts as he waves his foreleg to the door. Green rushes through and looks around, trying to find a spot they can hide. The building is made of wood, and most of the interior is littered with dead bodies. Looking to his right, Green spots a staircase leading downwards, and points it out to his allies. He rushes down the stairs, which squeak and tremble under his weight. When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he finds a small door, and busts it open. The room inside is a rather large area, with several overturned tables and chairs. The walls are lined with blue wallpaper, and the ground has chipped tiles coming out of it. Green quickly sprints over to a corner, and places the filly there. The girl stares at him with fear, and curls up into a ball as she beings to cry softly. He hears a slam, and looks behind him. Standing there is his team, all hunched over and trying to catch their breath, except Flare. Who is holding the door shut. Mason looks up to Green and angrily marches over to him.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HECK WAS THAT?" He shouts at him. Mason is clearly outraged, and shoves his hoof into Green's chest.

"You could have gotten us killed back there!" He shouts with fury in his voice. The filly is audibly crying now, wailing bitterly. Green points to her, and shouts back at the Sergeant.

"We couldn't just leave her! We all know what those things were going to do to her! Have a heart you scumbag!" He shouts angrily. Mason punches him, and Green falls flat on his back. He gives out a slight groan of pain as his head smacks against the ground, making a slightly audible thud. Mason throws his hoof onto Green's neck, and glares at him with outstretched eyes, clearly outraged.

"Who are you calling a scumbag? You made an idiotic choice, and every SGTD team in this city is going to pay for it!" He shouts as he forces his hoof down on Green's throat. Green gags slightly. The Sergeant wasn't choking him, but the sudden movement could make anypony gag.

"Both of you knock it off! Green did the right thing!" He hears from in front of him. Looking up, Green sees Flare and Tiffon pulling Mason off of him. Tiffon stares angrily at Green.

"New to the squad or not, you listen to orders! Now we have to deal with changelings looking for us! Think next time you gamble the squad's well being!" He says angrily. The Major then looks over to Mason, equally angry.

"And you! I'm sick and tired of you finding only negative things about this guy! Like it or not, he's part of the team, so pull you head out of your rear and get the heck over yourself!" He shouts angrily. Mason nearly attacks Tiffon, but Grace steps in between the fighting stallions.

"All you just calm down. We've all read Green's file, his father taught him to put civilians first, and he's dead. Chances are he's still following his dad's way of working through missions. We all know what that's like. Now we have a traumatized little girl who's just lost everything she cared about. Instead of fighting each other, how about we see if she's okay?" He says calmly. Mason glares angrily at Green for a moment, then pulls away from the major.

"You're gonna get us all killed..." He says with a shake of the head. Green glares at him angrily as he walks over to the filly, who is backing away in fear.

"Chill out, I'm not here to hurt you." Mason says as he reaches out. The filly screams and kicks his hoof, to which Mason gives a groan of pain.

"The little brat kicked me!" He said angrily. Flare walks over to him and glares at him.

"Get your brain working ya' nut. She's scared out of her mind, of course she isn't trusting anypony right now." He says. Green looks over to her, seeing her still trembling.

"She probably thinks we're changelings..." He says. The others look at him with confusion, as he gently kneels down next to her. She whimpers and backs away, tears still strolling from her eyes. Green puts one hoof up, and places it to the back of his mask. He gently pulls it off, revealing his green coat and brown mane. The filly stopped crying, and stared at him. Green pulls off his goggles, revealing a smile, and his red eyes.

"It's okay... We're ponies... Just like you." He says soothingly. The filly looks at him a moment, still breathing heavily. She then looks around the room, where Flare, Tiffon, and Grace have pulled off their masks. Rook, Long Bow, and Mason still have their masks on however, which cause her to shake with fear again.

"Wha... What about them?" She asks fearfully. Rook sighs and takes off his mask, mumbling something to himself. Long Bow pulls his mask off, and gives the child a reassuring smile.

"You're safe now, don't worry." He says with a positive attitude. Mason looks away for a moment, but eventually grumbles to himself and pulls off his mask. The filly looks at each stallion, and begins to stand, coming out of the former ball position she was in. Green stays kneeled down, that way he can look her in the eyes.

"W-What's your name?" She asks with fear in her voice. Green smiles, and places his hoof on his chest.

"I'm Sergeant Evergreen, but a lot of ponies just call me Green." He says with a nod. The filly nods and looks around the room, her lip is still trembling, no doubt because of the trauma she has endured. Green smiles and asks for her name. The filly hesitates for a while, but then looks back up to him.

"I... I'm Jewel..." She says as her voice grows shaky once more. She sniffs and cries softly.

"I was named after my mommy..." She says as she closes her eyes, and begins to cry again. Jewel runs to Green and hugs him, crying bitterly.

"I want them back... I just want my mommy and daddy back!" She cries out, weeping into his black suit. Green stands stunned for a moment, but wraps one foreleg around the young girl, and begins to shush her.

"It's okay... It's okay to miss your parents..." He says soothingly. Jewel continues to cry into him, as Tiffon kneels down next to her.

"I lost my mom and dad too... I know how you feel. I'm just sorry it happened to you when you were so young." He says with pity in his voice. Jewel sniffs and looks over to the Major, and Green releases her.

"You... You did?" She asks, her voice still shaky and weak. Tiffon nods and frowns.

"My dad died trying to keep the Princesses safe... And my mom died in the first attacks. I was devastated, so if you need to talk to somepony, I'm right here." He said with a nod. Jewel nods and looks to Green.

"Did... You lose your mommy and daddy?" She asks. Green loses his smile, and looks down at the ground. He didn't like talking about his father's death, but if it helped Jewel trust them, and get her to stop crying, then he would suck it up.

"Well... My mom is okay but... My dad... He died right in my forelegs... Bled out... I begged him to stay with me but... It was too late for him..." He said, hanging his head. He and his father had always been close, and he couldn't go on a mission for weeks when he died. He was overcome with grief, much like this little girl was now. Jewel sniffs and nods, but still looks like she's going to cry. Green smiles and places a hoof on her shoulder.

"It's okay to cry for them... You loved them, there's nothing wrong with being sad." He says calmly. Jewel tries to nod, but she bursts out crying instead. She hugs Green again, crying her eyes out, while Green wraps a foreleg around her and comforts her. Tiffon gets up and looks over to Long Bow.

"See if you can find a radio, we need to get the word out to the other squads. See if you can get an evac, we're gonna need it."

**OCs in this chapter:**

**Master Sergeant Gear - garnetfrog**

**Staff Sergeant Cole - The one who lives in darkness**


	6. Mountain Side

_Asheville , Ice Cap Peak_

_11:30 Hours_

_Corporal Aqua Shade (Callsign "Crutch"), GOU_

_March 27th_

Aqua Shade blew into her hooves, and rubbed them together. The white winter coat she was wearing helped keep out the cold of the elements to a degree, but her face still felt the full effect of the icy winds and snow. Aqua was used to dealing with water based tings, as this was her special talent. She could do just about anything with water, turn it into a gas, freeze it, change a current's direction, take advantage of water in the air, even form it into barricades that would protect her and her allies. This didn't mean she was immune to the cold though. Her dark grey coat was tinted to a white color due to the snow accumulated on her face, and her neon blue mane had even faded in color. Her Garrison squad was the Global Operations Unit, or GOU for short. They specialized in adapting to any environment to get the job done. From the sandy hot deserts of Appleoosa, to the low oxygen, icy mountains of Canterlot. It was also one of the few divisions in the military that allowed dragons to fight along side ponies. Looking to her right, Aqua observed her Captain, Spike. The teenage dragon was seventeen years old, and was blowing fire into his hands to warm himself up. These missions were extremely dangerous for him, but thanks to internal heating armor made by a scientist named Orange Dust, he could suppress his cold blooded nature and be warm blooded. Even so, the cold was more harsh on him than the others. Since joining the war at the young age of eleven, two years after the first attack, he had proven himself to be an expert on the battlefield. He had been fighting for six years, as opposed to Aqua, who, despite being two years older, had joined at sixteen, giving her only three years of battlefield experience. Half of his. Spike was a bit small for most dragons, as he was only about a foot taller than most ponies, but that didn't bother him. He turned over to Aqua and smiled.

"Not exactly the luxury treatment eh?" He says with a chuckle. Aqua smiles back.

"Well I wouldn't mind a transfer to a hotter environment about now." She says with a joking attitude. Spike chuckled and shook his head, looking back to the left. The slopes of Ice Cap Peak were much steeper than the ones in Canterlot, although they didn't go as high into the air. Their mission on this mountain was to get to the small alley between Ice Cap Peak and the Roaring Top mountains, where changeling activity had been detected. They were ordered to take out whatever was set up there, but they had to do so silently. Their only assistance on this mission, the Gyges squad from the air force, would only arrive for extraction, or if the situation was compromised. Spike breathed into his claws once more, then looked over to Aqua.

"Break's over Crutch. Let's get moving." He said with an authoritative voice. Aqua nodded and stood, watching as Spike shimmied across a narrow ledge of ice. Aqua was quick to follow suit, making sure not to make a wrong step. Once or twice, she missed a step and felt nothing under her hoof, but she managed to keep herself calm and regain her footing. She reached the end of the ledge, which led onto a large ridge, big enough to fit five ponies on. Or one dragon and a pony. Spike removed his gloves, revealing his purple hands.

"Stay here and watch my back. Wait for my go." He says calmly. Aqua sees a slight glimmer from his hands, and saw his claws come out from his fingertips. Another good thing about Spike, he could bring his own tools to a mission, without relying on others for too much help. The dragon drove his right hand into the mountain top, gaining a modest '_shank' _sound from the ice wall. Spike drove his other claw above it, and then used the cleats on his feet to get himself stuck on the wall. He climbed a bit higher, then shook around a bit.

"Alright, ice is good, come on up." He said. Aqua reached behind her, and pulled out two pick straps. The straps could easily fit around her wrists, which had pick axes at the end. She eased her breathing and dug the first axe into the ice, which caused a few pieces of it to fly onto her snout. It stung slightly, but it didn't really hurt. Driving her other axe into the ice, she steadily the steep walls of ice, making sure to keep up with Spike. Spike's wings had grown it, but they weren't yet strong enough for vertical flight, forcing him to climb if he wanted to go upwards. Aqua felt bad for him, but at least she could have a climbing partner this way. Up and up she went, driving her axes in and out of the ice numerous times. Spike eventually reached a small ledge, and pulled himself up onto it. Even from below it, Aqua could see the wall stop, although steep edges circled around the end. This meant that the valley was close. Aqua dug her axe into the ice, but felt a crevice. The axe sank, cracking the ice. The weakened wall began to drop her, and Aqua panicked slightly.

"Hang on! Don't let go!" Spike shouted from over the edge. Aqua grunted and drove her pick axe back into the ice, but once again felt a crevice. This caused the ice below her to crack, and break away. She was still sliding towards it, and this would take out her other axe, making her fall all the way down to the ledge from before, which was now a good fifty feet below the hole. Aqua desperately tried to dig her axe into the ice, but continued to slide. Just as she reached the hole, she felt something stop her, and looked up. Hanging on to the ice with a single claw, and his cleats, was Spike.

"Don't worry Aqua, I gotcha." He said with a nod. Spike only used real names when he was reassuring, or really cared about the individual he was talking to. In Aqua's case, it was probably a little of both. Three years in the same squad made people grow on you. Aqua sighed with relief, and tried digging her other pick axe into the ice again. This time, it stuck, allowing her to continue up. However, on this climb, Spike stayed right beside her, making sure she stayed up. When Spike reached the ledge again, he held out his hand, offering it to Aqua. She accepted it, and allowed Spike to pull her up to the ledge. Spike nodded and looked over to the right, seeing a steady incline of ice. The snow was coming down a little harder, almost to the point of being a blizzard. Aqua didn't mind blizzards, it gave her more water to work with.

"Looks like we're close." She said calmly. Spike nodded and brought out his spike gun. Unlike ponies, dragons were unable to use wrist guns, as they were always falling off due to their scales cutting the straps keeping them secure. Instead, they got one or two handed weapons that could hold just as many spikes, but were larger and heavier. In exchange for this however, the guns had more range, and could travel faster, giving the spikes more power. Spike's weapon was one of the full auto ones, carrying a full thirty spikes in a single box magazine. He told Aqua to stay low, and crouched down as he moved along the slope. Aqua readied her wrist gun and moved along, keeping up with the dragon. The ice was strong, and didn't creak or even crack slightly under their weight, which allowed them to move along unafraid of avalanches. As they reached the end of the incline, the snow and wind blew ferociously, now in a full scale blizzard.

"Storm's picking up..." Spike said.

"You don't say?" Aqua shot back. Spike turned around and gave her a skeptical glare.

"Don't make me regret saving you Crutch." He said bluntly. Aqua chuckled, and moved on. Messing with Spike was fun to Aqua, even if it did annoy him. The fact that it did made him annoyed actually made it even more fun for her. The duo followed the edges of the mountain, and came across a deep valley. Inside the valley was a large, circular building, as well as several other small warehouses.

"Jackpot. We found it." Spike said as he got onto one knee, observing the compound. Aqua joined him, taking to his right side. The compound was a rather small settlement, but there were still plenty of changelings. Even from here, she could see several in winter coats, walking around the area and patrolling the grounds. Fortunately, the enemy had no idea they were there. In addition, all of their gear blended in with the snowy landscape. Aqua looked over to Spike, who was now resting his gun on his knee.

"How you wanna go in?" She asked. Spike looked over to her, staring questioningly for a moment. He quickly picked up his weapon, and placed the stock on his shoulder. Looking back down into the gorge, he squinted.

"We'll slide down and stick to the shadows. We'll be like phantoms in this blizzard." He said as he placed one claw on the edge of the drop. He leaped over and landed on his back. Aqua followed suit soon after. A small amount of the snow slipped inside of her coat, making her even colder than she already was. She shielded her eyes as more snow blew into her face, covering her face in the white powder. Due to the temperature, the snow wasn't even melting, and simply clung to her fur. She came to a halt as Spike reached the bottom. Standing up, she walked back over to him, awaiting his next orders.

"Alright, stay near me. If we get separated there's no way we'll find each other in this storm." He says as he looks back to her. Aqua nods and looks forward, although all she can see is a large wall of white. The blizzard has all but blocked their vision, making the operation that much harder, and dangerous.

"Wish we would have known the weather would suck so bad." She says jokingly.

"Yeah well that's nature for you. Acts on it's own. Crazy to think we thought it was haunted once." Spike said as he stepped forward. Aqua carefully follows Spike, making sure to give him enough space to operate. The snow continued to come down in large amounts, almost feeling like hail. A warehouse came into view, and Spike held up his hand in a halting motion. Aqua froze, and held out her wrist gun, aiming it at the warehouse. Spike also pointed his weapon at it. He looked back to Aqua, and gave her a serious stare.

"How much plastic explosive do you have?" He asked.

"Command outfitted me with ten one pound packs. Two packs should be enough to blow this warehouse sky high." She said calmly. Spike shook his head.

"No, we can't risk the noise. Can you set it to a certain time?" He asked. Aqua nodded.

"Yeah, I can set it up to thirty minutes. That should be more than enough time right?" She asked. Spike nodded.

"We don't need all that time. Set it to twenty, and I'll keep track of how much time we got."

...

_Asheville, Ice Cap Peak_

_11:48 Hours_

_Captain Spike (Callsign "Steam"), GOU_

_March 27th_

Spike watched as the patrol walked past them, oblivious to the pony and dragon. Spike had never been a fan of storms, especially ones with snow and ice, but it was rather useful at the moment.

"This blizzard wasn't expected, but at least it's keeping us safe." Spike said. Aqua nods.

"How much time we got left on the plastic explosives?" She asked.

"You set the ones we placed after the first one to explode in sync?" He asked. Aqua nodded, and shifted her pack, which still contained four packs.

"Well, in that case, we have about eight minutes. Let's get the rest of the packs into that main base." He said. Aqua nearly moved, but Spike stopped her.

"Not through the front door. We need to sneak around the back." He said as he backed away. Aqua followed his lead, and pointed out her gun to the front, careful not to miss an enemy. So far, neither of them had needed to fire a shot. Besides, if they were spotted, Aqua could just use an emergency switch that would detonate the placed explosives right away. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but they couldn't be too careful.

"Visual on two tangos. Pretty far away from the others." Aqua said. Spike looked over, and saw two changelings conversing with one another. He squints, trying to get a clearer view of them. Around their necks are jet black collars, with a red light that beeps in a consistent tone. Alarmbeat collars. Instantly, he grows wide eyed.

"Stay down!" He whispers in a panicked tone. Quickly, he pulls Aqua down, gaining a surprised grunt from her. He lays prone on the ground as he tries to avoid being seen.

"What the heck? What's gotten into you?' Aqua asks with a confused tone. Spike shushes her.

"Those cons are just bait. They want us to kill them. You see those collars around their necks?" He asks as he points. Aqua raises an eyebrow and turns back to the changelings, who are now looking in the direction opposite of them. Aqua squints, and Spike looks back around, trying to find out where the over watch changeling could be hiding. Aqua gives a confused look and stares back at Spike, asking why the collars were such a big deal.

"Those things are Alarmbeat collars. They track a changeling's heartbeat, and if it goes to low, it lets out a high pitched alarm. As you can imagine that brings it's buddies running to the sound." He says as he crawls to a stack of crates to his right. Aqua is wide eyed for a moment, then follows Spike to the crates. Rising to a crouching position, Spike looks from behind the crates, trying to ensure no one had followed them. He sees nothing, and gives a sigh of relief. He motions for Aqua to follow him, and slowly moves along the edge of the main building. Spike shook his head, scowling in his discovery of it's massive size. Four packs of plastic explosive would not be enough to destroy it, they would need a full on air raid to take it out.

"We can't take this out on our own. We need heavy explosives to take this out." He said calmly.

"I don't agree." A raspy voice says from behind. Spike instantly turns behind him, aiming his weapon. What he finds is more than a little frightening. Twenty plus changelings are standing before them, with flame guns pointed right at them. Flame guns were weapons that shot small pellets at a target, but burst into flames when they came into contact with something. They were basically their equivalent of the spike guns. Spike backed away slightly, placing a hand protectively over Aqua, who was also holding out her weapon. The changelings must have had an over watch sniper Spike hadn't been able to find, that had discovered their presence and reported it in. He can't help but feel he didn't pay close enough attention. One of the changelings stepped forward, still aiming it's weapon at the two soldiers. This changeling had a star on his chest, which must have meant he was the leader of them.

"We do not tolerate scouts well. Surrender now, and we promise to spare you." He said with a smug grin. Spike is in over his head on this one, but he still has Aqua to fall back on.

"Crutch... Plan B..." He says quietly. The command is silent enough to where the changelings are unable to hear him, but Aqua gives an ever so slight nod as she pulls out a small switch. The changeling leader frowns and steps closer.

"You have five seconds before we execute you right now!" He shouts. Spike places his second hand to his weapon as the leader counts backwards from five. Aqua looks over to him, her eyes full of fierce determination. Spike nods, still keeping his eyes locked on the changelings. A boom is heard, along with long, violent bursts of orange and yellow. the reaction is exactly what Spike was hoping for, all the changelings jumping and turning around to face the sound. Quickly, he pulls his trigger and sends spikes into the hostiles, along with Aqua. The two members empty all sixty of their combined ammo into the enemy. Spike rushes to his feet and begins to reload as a long alarm goes off. The changelings had been wearing Alarmbeats.

"Crutch! Follow me let's go!" He shouts as he slams a box magazine into his gun, and turns to find two more hostiles firing at them. Firing five shots, he kills one of the changelings and injures the other, as more and more changelings come from nowhere, attacking the two soldiers relentlessly.

"Gyges One this is Steam! We've been compromised! Requesting immediate assistance!" He shouts into his radio. A fire gun goes off in front of him, causing him to stumble as he tries to avoid the next set of blasts. Aqua turns and fires in the direction of the gunfire.

"Roger that Steam, me and my guys are inbound, about time we got some action!" Gyges One shouts back into the radio, followed by her battle cry. Spike groans in annoyment as he slides behind one of the destroyed warehouses. He sees streams of fire stretch past him, hitting Aqua on her hind leg. She gives a grunt of pain as she comes to a painful halt, crashing in front of Spike. He quickly scoops her up, taking her into his arms.

"Aqua, you ok?" He asks with a concerned tone. Looking down to her leg, he sees a burn mark where the fire hit, but nothing serious. Aqua grunts in anger and throws Spike's arms off of her.

"I'm fine! Those dirt bags are REALLY gonna pay now!" She shouts as she pops up and fires more rounds. Spike ducks down, watching as more fire flies at them.

"Two can play this game..." He says quietly. With haste, he pops up and opens his mouth. He gives a push from his throat, and spews out a wave of sticky fire. His fire was powerful, but he could only store up a certain amount of gas he ignited to use as his fire. Once it was gone, it took a few hours to get back, so he had to use his fire sparingly. He let the burst go on for about four seconds, then ducked back down. Cries of pain came from the other side.

"That should buy us some time! Get to the ridge now!" He shouts as he hoists Aqua up to standing position. Aqua gives a quick grunt from pain, but manages to move on. Spike rushes forward, and hears extremely loud whooping. Gyges one must have showed up. Personally, Spike really didn't like Gyges one, she was hyper, battle crazed, and rushed into situations. She was a good tactician and leader, but she was way too careless for his tastes. Which is why he was overjoyed when he heard Gyges two, her older brother on the radio instead.

"Dang Steam! From up here, it looks like a small village is after you!" He says with a chuckle.

"Yeah tell me something I don't know! Just give us cover!" Spike shouts. Firing off a few more shots, Spike watches as the Gyges squad dives down, taking out changelings with both spike guns, and close range knives.

"Check your fire! Friendlies are on the ground!" He hears Gyges three shout. Spike fires more rounds into the changelings, and hears a clicking noise. With haste, he throws his old clip out of his weapon, and grabs a new one. As he slams it into the gun, he finds a large ice wall.

"There's our escape Crutch! No time for you to use your axes! Hop on and hang on tight!" He shouts as he scoops up Aqua, throwing her onto his back. He can hear Aqua continue to fire as he takes off his gloves and throws them onto the ground. Giving a vicious roar, he sinks his claws into the ice cliff, and forces his cleats into them as well. He hears a large cracking, and sees a chunk of ice fall down towards them.

"Crap!" He shouts as he moves to the side, and feels more fire rush past them. The fire melts away at the ice, making it harder to climb as it beings to drain ice cold water onto the dragon. Aqua stops firing for a moment, and focuses hard. An ice block shoots out, big enough for Spike to grab with his hand. He grabs hold, and another ice block shoots out of the wall. Aqua is making the ice come out, easing Spike's climb. She turns back to start firing, but Spike shouts out.

"Let Gyges worry about the hostiles! Just help me with this wall!" He cries as he grabs hold of the next ice block. There is a slight pause, but he sees another ice block shoot out of the wall, and Spike throws his hand onto it. As he goes higher, more and more fire is launched at him, making Spike wonder what Gyges is doing.

"Hey! We're taking fire here! Gyges, talk to me!" He shouts as he grasps another ice block, nearly at the top now. With a grunt, he grabs the final ice block, only for his hand to be blasted by fire. His immunity to fire makes him immune to it's effects, but the ice block he was using melts, throwing his hand down. Groaning with an annoyed tone, he hangs there a moment, trying to keep himself from falling. Bringing out his claws again, he drives it into the ice, keeping him up. He throws his claw over the edge, grabbing hold of the tip of the cliff. With a final shove, he pushes himself up, and lets Aqua leap off of his back. He looks behind him, and sees streams of fire launched at him.

"Gyges get the heck out of there! What in Celestia's name are you doing down there?" He shouts with anger into his radio. As he runs from the cliff side, he hears a large bang, and turns back to the cliff. A large explosion engulfs the valley, the heat from the blast even managing to reach Spike.

"Cleaning up your mess." Gyges one says with a smart aleck tone. Spike just shakes his head and leaps off of the side of the mountain, opening his wings. His wings rip out of his coat, sending pieces of it flying off of the mountain side. Looking back, he sees Aqua still running.

"Jump for it!" He shouts. Aqua lets out a long grunt, and leaps out. The ice underneath of her gives a crackling noise as she shouts, and the strong wind blows her farther out. Even with this, she is falling short. He cries out in panic, as does Aqua. He dives down, crying out for her to do something. She closes her eyes and focuses, as new ice forms underneath her. She's using her magic. The ice forms a slide, leading to Spike. She smacks onto the ice, giving a slight grunt of pain, as she begins sliding down the ice incline. The slide is not steep at all, forcing Spike to slow down to catch her.

"Catch me!" She shouts as she is halfway down the slide. Spike pumps his wings down harder, trying to increase his speed. Aqua is now three fourths off of the slide, and Spike has just reached the end of it. He screeches to a halt, and flaps his wings furiously as he tries to stay in that spot. Hovering was one of the few things that he was not good at, apart from flying straight up. Aqua reaches her forelegs out, and flies off of the slide. Spike throws out his arms, allowing her to smack right into his chest. He throws her arms right around her, and darts off as the artificial ice begins to melt.

"That was some show! I'd pay to see that!" He hears from above. The entire Gyges squad is flying above them, each one a little higher than the other. Spike shakes his head and looks down to the frightened mare in his arms, who is even trembling slightly.

"You okay?" He asks with a sincere tone.

"Still freaked out from nearly falling to my death, but I'll be okay." She says with a shaky voice. Spike gently rubs her mane as he looks forward, watching as vast canvases of grey and white mesh together around him.

"Command this is Steam, mission accomplished, we're on our way home." He says into his radio.

"Negative Steam we have another assignment for you. Some SGTD team blew their cover in the red zone. They're pinned down and have no means of escape. I'll brief you more when you get back, but do it quickly." Command said. Spike sighs and looks back down to Aqua, who has stopped trembling, but is still breathing heavily. Hopefully she could recover quickly.

**OCs in this chapter: **

**Coporal Aqua Shade: garnetfrog**

**Gyges Squad:Kirilia14**


	7. Evac

_Seaddle, "Red Zone" (Changeling Territory)_

_14:32 Hours_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SGTD_

_April 1st_

Green handed the last of his water to Jewel, watching as the young filly shakily brought it to her lips. The SGTD team had been stuck in this basement for a little over four days now, with no reports from any of the other teams sent in. The only exception to this was an occasional panicked shout from the radio, with a pony calling for backup, assistance, evac, etc. Every time this happened, Flare would try to call out to the other squads, let them know they weren't alone. But that only caused the radios to short out, silencing them until the next call for help came in. Food and water had been scarce in that basement, as they only had been issued enough rations to hold out for two days. Rationing out already thin rations never kept anypony decently fed, or in a good mood. Even Flare, the optimist of the group, had gotten cranky at one point. Jewel had been slowly accepting her parents' death, with Green helping her through it. Over the days they had been trapped, Green and Jewel had really bonded, to the point Jewel actually said he was like a big brother she had always wanted. Right now, Green had taken enough water to keep him in good condition for a couple of hours, and could have been the whole day. Had he not given the rest of his water to Jewel. He didn't mind, the girl would dehydrate and weaken faster than any of them could. Most likely due to her young age and rather small size. She shakily drank from the canteen, spilling a little bit of the water as she thirstily sucked the water from the container. When it was gone, she gave a soft sigh of relief, and then lowered the canteen.

"Any word from Command?" Green asked as he turned to the rest of the group. Tiffon was gently sharpening his knife, using a small sliver of steel he had found amongst the wreckage of a broken table. Turning to the Sergeant, Tiffon smiled softly, and replied;

"What do you think?" With a serious tone. Green sighed and looked over to Flare and Grace, who were occupied in a bet to see which of two rats would finish crumbs of bread they offered them first. Rook and Mason just chatted in a corner, while Long Bow seemed to be studying maps, trying to find a way out of the basement without endangering the squad. Turning back to Jewel, he saw her with a sheepish frown on her face, clearly embarrassed about something.

"Sorry for finishing your water. I didn't mean to." She said with a hint of regret in her voice. Green smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. You needed it more than I did." He said reassuringly. Jewel nodded, and then looked over to the door.

"W... When do you think we'll get out?" She asked fearfully. Green lost his smile, and looked over to the doorway as well. The door seemed more like a cell door than something to keep changelings out, but it was the latter. Still, Green couldn't help but feel trapped every time he looked at it. Probably because he was, and that door was the only thing keeping them safe. Still, it was almost like the situation itself was mocking him, reminding him that this whole mess was his fault to begin with. Mason's accusations of wanting to get him and Rook killed by any means necessary didn't help, even with Grace and Tiffon to tell him to back off. He still just felt like...

"Green?" He heard. Shaking his head, he looked back over to Jewel, who had the same expression as before on her face, clearly awaiting his answer. Green sighed and kneeled down.

"I don't know... Hopefully it will be soon." He said with uncertainty in his voice. This didn't do much to reassure Jewel, but she nodded nonetheless. Patting her on the shoulder, he got up and walked over to Tiffon, who was still sharpening his knife. The Major calmly looked over to the Sergeant, not letting up on the sharpening of his blade.

"Something up?" He asked calmly. Green sighed and looked over to Jewel, who was looking around the room once again, trying to find something to keep her mind off of her parents. Shaking his head, he looks back over to the Major with questioning eyes.

"I don't get it... Why was she still in the city? Kids are supposed to have the highest priority aren't they?" He asked with confusion in his voice. Children were considered the most important group to get out of a city under attack, even if it meant separating them from their parents. The military wasn't above getting a child out and leaving their parents in the city to die, so why wasn't Jewel out of the city? Tiffon sighed and looked back to his knife, sparks beginning to fly off of the blade with a quiet _shank_.

"You saw the reports on what happened in the Red Zone. Changelings came without any warning. The nearest neighboring area was thirty miles away, nopony expected them at all. The QGR teams were eliminated before they could evacuate any civilians. Only those smart enough to use the chaos of the attack got away. As for the rest, if you're still in the parts of the city the Army and Marines haven't reached yet, you're stuck." He said as he grinded the piece of steel against the knife, this time with more force. A thud sounded from outside the basement, and Green looked up to the doorway.

"Don't get your hopes up. Probably just a storm that's making it way here." Tiffon said with no emotion in his voice. Green sighed and nodded. Storms were fairly common in Seaddle, and never really let up throughout the year. Even in winter, you could expect at least one thunder storm. The crack of thunder also brought another sound, a whimper. Looking back over to Jewel, Green sees her rearing away in fear, frightened by the storm. He walked over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder, to which she wrapped her forelegs around him. He carefully wrapped one of his forelegs around her as well, careful not to squeeze too hard.

"You okay?" He asked with a soothing voice. Looking up to him, Jewel shakes her head, her eyes outlined with fear.

"Thunder storms scare me. I know it doesn't make sense but..." She tried to say. Another crack of thunder interrupted her, making her squeak in fright and bury herself deeper into Green's chest. Green just smiled and rubbed her foreleg to calm her down. Looking to the right, he sees Rook staring at the doorway with a threatening glare, as though it would attack.

"You guys hear that?" He asked as he carefully strafed toward the door. Green rose an eyebrow, giving him a quizzical look. Was he talking about the thunder? What was so suspicious about that? It was just thunder after all. Not some changeling weapon. He was just about to ask what he meant when Tiffon rose his head, as though alarmed by something.

"I hear it too..." He said quietly. Throwing aside the piece of steel he was using, he placed his knife in it's place, then rose his wrist gun cautiously. Flare looked over to Grace, clearly confused.

"I don't hear a bloody thing over that thunder." He said with a confused tone. Green was about to give his agreements with Flare, but that's when he heard what had gotten Tiffon and Rook on alert. Somewhere, clearly close by, was the soft, audible thuds of footsteps. Each one grew slightly louder than the next, coming that much closer to where they were. Green released Jewel, who was now trembling with fright.

"Get behind me... Don't let whatever that is see you." He said with a serious tone, making sure to keep eye contact with her. Jewel nodded and released him, shakily making her way to his back. Green readied his weapon as the rest of the team heard the footsteps, quickly drowned out by the thunder. By now, Rook and Tiffon had set up parts of the broken tables in the room to act as a barricade, while Long Bow and Mason aimed their weapons at the door. Green slowly made his way over to another broken table, careful to make sure Jewel was still behind him.

"Everypony... Be ready for whatever might be heading our way." Tiffon ordered quietly as he crouched down, steadying himself. Grace joined the rest of the team at the front of the room, while Flare eased his way to the back of the room, keeping low. Green let his sights drift to the doorway, making sure to keep his breathing steady. For what felt like hours, all he heard was the soft thud of footsteps, and his slow, rhythmic breathing. Suddenly, the thuds stopped, just when it sounded like they were outside the door.

"Should we see if they're friendly?" Long Bow asked, still keeping his weapon trained on the door.

"Are those more of the bad ponies?" Jewel asked with fear in her voice. Green looked back to her, seeing her shaking with terror. Her legs were wobbling underneath her, and he could hear her breathing speed up.

"I don't know... But don't worry. They're not gonna touch you." He said with confidence. Jewel nodded and looked over the table, still frightened by the scenario in front of her. Green looked back to the door as well, hearing Tiffon order to only fire if fired upon. The knob on the door gently twisted, making everypony lean forward, ready to engage.

"Moon." He heard as the door opened slightly. Sighing in relief, he lowered his weapon slowly, as the opening door revealed a greenish purple dragon, quickly followed by a grayish-black mare with black camo gear on. The dragon wore a black suit, similar to theirs and the mare's. It came up to his neck, keeping only his face exposed. Tiffon and Long Bow lowered their weapons, as the rest of the team made sure they actually were what they appeared to be. After a few seconds of each squad evaluating each other, they both lowered their weapons, as Green rose from his crouched position. The dragon walked over to Tiffon, a smug grin on his face.

"You almost gave command a heart attack. Good to see their worrying was for nothing." He said as he tossed something to him. The mare looked around the room, evaluating it and everything in it. Looking over to Green, she squinted and cocked her head, clearly having noticed Jewel. She backed away with a whimper, but Green reassured her. The mare walked over to the two, as Jewel hid behind Green.

"You okay?" She asked as she lowered her weapon, realizing that Green and Jewel weren't a danger. Green nodded and looked behind him, seeing Jewel still hiding behind his leg. The mare looked over to her, and gave a sympathetic frown.

"She's been through a lot, but she'll be okay." Green said calmly. The mare nodded, looking back over to Tiffon and the others. Looking to her shoulder, Green saw a patch containing a globe with knives on either side of it. One pointing up, the other pointing down. It also contained a banner that read "Global Operations Unit". Green looked back up to the mare, seeing her look back at him.

"So, who are you guys?" He asked calmly.

"We're operatives of the Global Operations Unit. I'm Corporal Aqua Shade. But you can just call me Crutch." She said calmly. Crutch looked over to the dragon, and pointed at him.

"That dragon over there is Captain Spike. But you can just call him Steam." She said calmly. Green nodded and looked over to Steam, who was talking to Tiffon. Jewel was looking back to the doorway, as another crack of thunder sounded. She cowered away again, making Green wrap a foreleg around her.

"Green! Grab Jewel and let's go! We're Oscar Mike!" He hears Tiffon shout. Green frowns and looks down to her, seeing her trembling even more now. He gently releases her, and looks her in the eye. Jewel shakes as she looks up the doorway, knowing that she has to go out into the storm. Green smiles and places his hoof on her shoulder.

"You can do it. You're brave enough." He says encouragingly. Jewel looks down, sniffing.

"I don't know... I don't think I can do it..." She said as her voice grew shaky. Green can hear the fear and uncertainty in her voice, ebbing away at her. Trying to think of something that could calm her down, he replays the events of the last few days in his head. What could give her the confidence to know she could beat this storm? That's when it hits him.

"Don't worry... We protected you from those changelings a few days ago, remember?" He asked with a kind smile. Jewel looked up at him, tears strolling from her eyes. Ever so slowly, she nodded her head.

"It's just like that now. We won't let anything hurt you. We'll be there for you if you need anypony. Okay?" He said. Jewel hesitated for a moment, but looked back up to him. The look of fear in her eye has diminished slightly, leaving a look of trust.

"Okay." She said, her voice still slightly shaky. Green nodded, telling her to stay next to him. Looking back to Crutch, Green nodded. Crutch ran over to the doorway, joining Steam up the stairs. Green looked over to Jewel one final time, giving her a nod for encouragement. With that, he raced up the stairs, ready to get out of the city.

...

_Seaddle, "Red Zone"_

_14:40 Hours_

_Technical Sergeant Darkstar (Official Rank), Eagle Squadron_

_April 1st_

Darkstar waited atop the clouds, careful not to attract too much attention. His team had been sent in to provide overwatch and cover for the GOU squad sent in to rescue Major Tiffon's SGTD team. Several other aerial units were deployed to provide cover for other GOUs that were also sent in to rescue other SGTD teams. Beside him was Spectrum, who was serving as a spotter for him. Equipped with a new chemical weapon that had just been tested in combat training, he was to disorient and confuse hostile squads attacking the ground team. This gas was not lethal, but it packed one heck of a punch. Ace had accidentally taken a whiff of the gas, and had been sick for a whole two days. The changelings wouldn't get the chance to be sick for that long. Then again, the gas hadn't been tested against moisture, which may be a problem in the pouring rain.

"Any sight of them?" Darkstar asked as he watched a group of changelings enter a building. The devastated city beneath him nearly made him nauseous. Seeing famous businesses and landmarks laying in ruin and ashes hit him hard. He had lived in Seaddle for a good two years, and it had really grown on him. Only a few small houses and restaurants remained in the war torn city.

"No, I don't have a visual." Spectrum said with the shake of her head. Darkstar looked to the clouds to the right of them, seeing Ace and Hawk, each with their respective weapons. Ace was smiling and tapping his hoof impatiently against the cloud, as where Hawk had one eye closed, aiming down at the ground carefully. Darkstar shook his head, looking back down to the ground. This unit was definitely a lot different than the 52nd. But then again, that was kind of the point. Shaking his head, he threw these thoughts from his head, making sure to keep focused on the mission.

"Eagles one through five, this is Steam. We have our guys secure but hostile patrols have us pinned down. Can you create a diversion to allow us some time to move? Over?" Darkstar suddenly heard from his radio. Looking over to Spectrum, he gave her a questioning look, asking if she heard that as well. The mare gave a non verbal nod, and looked back down to the ground.

"You heard the dragon. Let's get a diversion in the makings." Lancaster said from his radio. Darkstar looked back over to Spectrum, who had already gotten up from her prone position. The clouds underneath her swirled away as she carefully stood, making sure to keep her balance.

"I know a good spot, follow me." She said with a confident tone. Darkstar nodded and looked over to Hawk and Ace, who were already on the move. Rising, he followed Spectrum's lead, making sure to stay right behind her. The terrain below them shifted, changing from shades of gray and black with the shapes of destroyed buildings and landmarks. They were quickly replaced by new buildings, trenches, command posts, and other battle field commons. Several of the changelings were charging forward, ready to meet the Army and Marines with everything they had. Some however, were staying back. No doubt making contact with their queen and discussing battle tactics.

"Will this work?" Darkstar asked cautiously. He wasn't exactly an expert, but he did know that this location was a decent distance away from where the GOU and SGTD were trapped. Could a diversion this far away really lead changelings that already knew that something was going on away from their target? He looked over to Spectrum with questioning eyes, only to find hers to be filled with confidence and determination.

"Of course it will work. The changelings care more about threats closer to the battlefield." She explained in a serious tone. Darkstar nodded, and turned his attention back over to the target zone. In his peripheral vision, he could see Lancaster landing on a cloud next to them. He raised his hoof slowly, non verbally telling the rest of the squad to be ready.

"Hold..." He said calmly. To Darkstar's right, Ace and Hawk were both aiming their weapons down at the ground, although Ace was much more giddy than his higher ranked ally. Darkstar had his chemical weapon primed, ready to be fired on command. For what felt like decades, Lancaster stood there, observing the changelings from his cumulus peak. Spectrum grew somewhat antsy, as she began leaning farther onto the cloud and then back again, awaiting Lancaster's command. Finally, Lancaster threw down his hoof quickly, signaling for them to open fire. Darkstar instantly unloaded a gas round on the hostiles below, watching as it erupted around the changelings on the ground. The sight was also soon full of spikes flying downwards, courtesy of the rest of the Eagle Squadron. Darkstar quickly readied another chemical shot, making sure to keep an eye out for projectiles.

...

_Seaddle, "Red Zone"_

_14:45 Hours_

_Captain Spike (Callsign "Steam"), GOU_

_April 1st_

Spike watched as the changelings quickly darted away, turning around to join whatever disturbance the Eagle squadron had made. He had never seen them run so fast.

"That got their attention!" He said into his radio as he brought his weapon forward. Jogging outside, Spike felt the cool rain beat against his scales, as another crack of thunder illuminated the skies. The SGTD team quickly followed him outside, also getting themselves wet in the deluge. Spike pointed his weapon and turned around, making sure none of the changelings had stayed. Seeing the coast clear, he quickly turned and started sprinting in the other direction.

"The evac site is about two miles in this direction. If we move as fast as we can, we can get there in no time!" He shouted as he placed his claw on a piece of debris in his way. Using this momentum, he launched himself over the blockade. As he landed, he quickly turned behind him, seeing Crutch leading the SGTD team over the obstacle. He threw his hands over his head several times, urging them to keep going and move quickly. As he turned back around, an explosion went off to his left, forcing him to cover his face with one of his claws. Looking to the right, he saw several changelings rushing over to them, firing what looked like EDS (Explosive Drop Spike) launchers at them. He quickly ducked, avoiding the next shot. These must have been changelings that were on the way to the diversion, but had seen the team on their way there.

"Hostiles at 9 o' clock! Get down!" He shouted as he slid over to an overturned carriage. Carefully adjusting himself, he popped up and fired a few spikes at his adversaries, gaining a hailstorm of fire, shrapnel, and water in response. The cold rain made his gun more difficult to hold, as it caused it to slip and slide in his hands.

"Eagle 0-5 we could really use a gas attack about now! Over!" He shouted as he ducked back down, watching as Crutch slid over to his cover. The SGTD team stayed behind the barricade, firing on the hostiles from there. Another explosion sent a shockwave throughout Spike's body, making him nearly fall over from the extreme force. The sounds of the world were drowned out for a moment, replaced by the sound of a loud screeching noise. Spike already knew what this was. Shell Shock. He remained still and shook his head, quickly gaining a few shouts for covering fire and reloads. This was the best way he knew of to get rid of shell shock, as he had suffered from it several other times in his career. Standing back up, Spike placed the butt of his rifle against his shoulder, once again attempting to contact Eagle Squadron.

"Eagle 0-5 if you're the one conducting the gas strikes, we need one right now! Over!" He shouted into his radio.

"I'm trying! Your location is not exactly close by!" The radio blared as Crutch popped up, firing away. She ducked back down, and looked over to Spike.

"What the heck do we do now?" She asked with a shout, trying to be heard over the explosions and chaos of battle. Spike shook his head, unsure of what came next. Things weren't going the way they were supposed to at all, needless to say.

"SMOKE OUT!" He suddenly heard from his side. Looking over, he saw one of the SGTD members throw out a smoke canister, blocking the view of the enemies in front of them. One of them launched themselves over the barrier, firing away at the hostiles. Spike nearly rose an eyebrow, but shook it off as he popped up and fired away as well. That's when another puff of smoke, this one a different color, burst out of the white smoke. Spike heard coughs and sputters as he watch the smoke quickly vanish into the downpour of rain around them. He brought his weapon forward, firing until his clip ran out of ammo. He leaped over the carriage, reaching to his side to grab a fresh clip. As he slammed his magazine into his gun, the gas cleared away, both smoke and chemical weapon. The changelings were disoriented for a few more seconds before shaking their heads and getting back in the fight. Spike quickly dodged another blast from changeling weaponry, as the heat from the explosion made it feel like the water on his back evaporated.

"Talk to me Eagle 0-5, I thought those gas attacks lasted longer than that! Over!" He said as he ducked behind a fallen billboard.

"Sorry! The gas seems to be extremely vulnerable to moisture! The rain is making the gas disperse too quickly for it to be inhaled in large quantities! Over!" The radio blasted as another explosion launched shrapnel at Spike's hiding spot. He covered his face with his claw again, trying to keep away from the side of the billboard. Looking over to the SGTD team, he noticed them falling back behind several piles of debris, as though trying to keep the changelings from focusing on a single spot. Not a bad tactic, it was working pretty well. In fact...

"Eagle 0-1, I need your team to sneak around and flank the hostiles to our front! How copy over?" He shouted as another gas attack filled the center of the battlefield. Spike took this opportunity to pop out and fire on his enemies once more, screams of pain and agony confirmed his hits. Once again his clip ran out of ammo, forcing him to hide away again.

"Roger that, my team is en route. ETA twenty seconds. Over." Eagle 0-1 said from Spike's radio. He slammed a fresh clip into his weapon as the coughing and sputtering came to an end once more. Spike peaked his head out from the side of the billboard, instantly greeted by a EDS coming right at him. He quickly pulled his head away, hearing it whine as it sailed past his ears. The projectile landed a good distance behind him, making it so that the explosion and shockwave had no effect on him.

"Eagle 0-1! 12 o' clock! Fire mission danger close! OUT!" He shouted into his radio. Tearing away his headset, Spike threw his gear out into the rain, gaining the desired distraction he was hoping for. The changelings quickly fired at the device, fearing it to be an explosive. Spike popped out from the billboard once again, firing his weapon as he noticed a flurry of spikes come down from the sky, annihilating any changelings in the open.

"Forward! Move! Move! MOVE!" Spike shouted as he launched himself over the sign, instantly firing his weapon at the hostiles trying to take cover. Several spikes missed Spike by no more than a few feet, but he didn't care. He just kept firing his weapon. Crutch and the SGTD joined in soon after that, with one lagging behind while shielding a small filly. Just as the hostiles in the front were eliminated, an explosion sounded from the direction they had came from, forcing Spike to move.

"More tangos to the rear! Just outrun them! Go! GO!" He shouted as he leaped over the dead body of a changeling. The mud from the rain caused him to slip, nearly making him fall as he landed. But a few seconds of readjusting his footwork allowed him to stay up. Not even daring to look behind him, Spike sprinted forward the second he could, watching as rain splattered against his face, almost feeling like small rocks.

"Joint unit 2-3-5 this Halo 5-9, we are at the exfil point, what's your status, over?" Spike heard from his radio. With his headset gone, he couldn't respond right away. He growled in frustration as he fumbled with his hands to find his regular radio. He knocked several other things loose in his attempt to find it, but eventually managed to find it. As he observed it, he noticed that it was on the wrong station, meaning that he would have to mess with it to get the desired response. He quickly moved the radio to it's side, twisting a dial with small numbers on it. He kept twisting until it reached the _7 _indicator. With haste, he brought the radio to his mouth as another explosion made him collapse to his feet, although he caught himself with his hand.

"Halo 5-9 we are under heavy fire but we're almost there, stand by! Begin the take off but keep that door open! Out!" He shouted into the device. After a few seconds, he could see the zeppelin in the distance. Zeppelins were heavily armored and equally heavily armed carriers that had been constructed a few years into the war, and now served as the main evacuation carriers due to their difficulty to take down. There were only four zeppelins in the world, so they were not risked in direct combat. Just as Spike caught sight of the massive blimp, he saw it begin to float away. However, just like he had ordered them to, the carriers still kept their hangar doors open. On the inside were two ponies, each wearing pilot outfits. There was also another dragon, taller than Spike, with red and orange scales, which were mostly covered by a camo outfit.

"Don't stop! Keep moving!" He shouted as he neared the hangar door. With all of his might, he leapt up into the air, feeling himself fly through the air without his wings as the wind rushed past him. He landed on the carrier with a thud, and turned around to face his allies.

...

_"Red Zone" Borderlands_

_14:55 Hours_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SGTD_

_April 1st_

Green watched as the zeppelin ever so slowly levitated further, and further from the ground. Jewel had become so frightened and traumatized, she had gone into a state of near paralysis. This forced him to carry her on his back, while she continued to tremble in the cold of the rain. He watched as Crutch made the jump, quickly followed by Tiffon and Long Bow. Green noticed how high it was getting, almost like it wouldn't stop moving upwards. He comes to a startling realization as Grace struggles to make the jump. With Jewel loading him down, he won't be able to make the jump. That leaves him with three options. Either leave Jewel and try to escape, toss her up and buy time for the others, or throw her up and try to make the jump then. The third option was, of course, the most appealing, but the jump was already massive enough. If he didn't make the jump, he would most likely smack into the hangar door, and fall back onto the ground. Still, with Jewel on the line, he had to go for it.

"Hope you're not scared of heights Jewel!" He shouted as he quickly sped up, watching as Mason and Rook barely clear the jump. Just as Flare launched himself, Green could feel Jewel begin to shake with even more force then before, as she realized just what it is he is trying to do.

""Anypony in Eagle Squadron, catch Jewel and get her on board!" He shouted as he pulled her off of his back. Seeing one of the pegasi swooping down from the sky, he looked down at Jewel, and asked if she trusted him. She doesn't even hesitate when she says yes. Quickly, he gave his best throw, tossing her high into the sky. He could hear her scream in terror, but saw her get rescued and placed on the zeppelin. An explosion went off behind him, reminding him just how crucial this next move was.

"Jump for it!" He could hear Flare shout as he waved his foreleg back and forth. Green grit his teeth, and placed all of his strength into a single push of his hind legs. The rain assaulted his face as he flew through the air, desperate to reach the hangar door. The wind roared in his ear, as somepony shouted for him to hit the ramp. The hanger becomes larger, and he prepares to grab onto the ledge. His front half smacked against the hanger door as he threw his forelegs onto it. Slowly, he began to slip, causing him to claw at it in a desperate effort to stay on board. Suddenly he halted, and looked up to see Flare gabbing onto his hooves, a serious, determined look on his face.

"Gotcha!" He shouted as he pulled him up onto the carrier, causing the hanger doors to finally begin shutting. Green gave a sigh of relief as he sat down in a corner, recapturing his breath from what had just happened. As he got his breath back, he looked over to the left, where Jewel sat shaking like a leaf, though Green couldn't tell if it was from the cold, fear, or both. Smiling, he walked over to her, and sat next to her. Upon seeing him, Jewel wrapped her forelegs around him, her eyes wide open in shock.

"P...Promise me we'll never do something like that again..." She said as her voice grew shaky, and weak. Green smiled and wrapped a foreleg around her, giving her his word.


	8. AT6 and The Past

_Frankenmuth (Changeling-Occupied City)_

_16:21 Hours_

_SFC. Blaze, AT6_

_April 1st_

Blaze looked out of the zeppelin, miles upon miles above the drop zone. At this height, even most Pegasi would start to be getting nauseous, and probably pass out. Not him. He was an Alicorn, born from a pegasus and a unicorn. Situations like this only happened at an estimated one out of millions. Maybe even billions. And his training knocked just about every weakness he had in his body right out of him. The Alicorn Team Six, a unit that was funded, run, commanded, and created by Princesses Celestia and Luna themselves. The elite of the elite. Blaze had spent four years training to his mental, physical, and emotional breaking points, and come out as one of the greatest soldiers ever known in Equestrian history. Only Alicorns could get through the nightmare of AT6. Everything was made to push you beyond your limits over and over again, until they were all but eradicated. Blaze had joined the war two years after he was captured by changelings, when he was twenty-one, but he didn't go into battle until four years later, when he was twenty-five. He was nineteen when this all began, and his visit to Trottingham ended in it's destruction, and the death of nearly every single pony in that town. It was only by favor of the queen that Blaze made it out alive. But it was in no way a blessing. The things the queen did to him... What she tried to do... Haunted him even to this day... If that team hadn't come in and rescued him...

_Knock it off... You still have a war to fight. _Blaze said to himself as he breathed in slowly and steadily. Looking down out of the carrier, Blaze watched as the zeppelin hovered about the cloud levels, which were outlined with grey and black.

"Ready up." He ordered, preparing his wrist gun. The three Alicorns that were in the carrier with him quickly responded, preparing themselves for the liberation. This was it. Frankenmuth, the believed hiding place one of the generals of the changeling army. If he was captured, and they could get enough information out of him, enemy tactics, bases, and more would be revealed, bringing the war to an abrupt, and long anticipated end. Blaze had wanted peace ever since the attack on his home, when the changelings bombed and eradicated it off of the face of the map. Nearly everpony in his family, twelve out of fourteen, was killed in that attack. And his little sister, the only one to survive, had been completely burned in half, to where part of her face didn't even exist anymore. It was a miracle doctors were able to save her at all. As a Hybrid Alicorn, not a Pure one, he was not immortal. But this would not stop him. He was already stronger, faster, and tougher than any other type of pony without his training. With it, his might and skill made entire cities fear his squad's name. Now another would once again fear him.

"30 seconds." He reminded, preparing to launch his shield spell. The plan was to free fall all the way down to the center of the city, then have each member spit up and search for the general. Of course, the fall would be un-survivable under normal counts. However, the Alicorns could create shields around them, blocking out the immense heat that would come from the speed of the fall. Behind him, Sgt. Typhoon, a grey coated Alicorn with a yellow mane, Sgt. Worm, a blue Alicorn with a grey mane, and SSgt. Blitz, a black coated Alicorn with a green colored mane prepared themselves for the drop. Blaze himself had a red, yellow, and orange mane, with a snow white coat. Of course, most of their coats were covered in fireproof, and shrapnel repellent vests. This armor did not restrict movement, but did make them heavier. As such, they moved more slowly.

"10 seconds." Blaze said calmly, readying himself. He reared down on his hind legs, preparing to launch himself. Focusing, he prepared his spell, forming white sparks around him. Within milliseconds, the sparks formed a large, white sphere, surrounding him with the magic shield he would need to survive the fall.

"Now. Drop." He said as he leaped from the Zeppelin. The wind began in a slow whistle, but quickly accelerated into an unbelievably loud howl. Closing his eyes, he breathed in steadily, preparing himself for the fight. There were no reinforcements. His team was it. The only ponies going into Frankenmuth. Sure, Twilight's intelligence team would provide them with enemy information, but they were on the front lines, alone.

"Squad Leader this is Home 2-3, give me a sitrep over." A female voice suddenly said into his radio. He recognized it instantly. Twilight. Despite the fact that she was useful, and a good friend, her timing was often times very terrible. This was on of those times.

"Standby Home 2-3, we are in the drop phase. Over." Blaze said as he began to feel a comfort warmness spread across his body. Opening his eyes, he saw exactly what he expected. A giant ball of flame surrounding his shield, giving off a distinct roaring noise, alien to the wind. The resulting heat from the fire around his shield never bothered Blaze, as it actually managed to keep him relaxed. That was one of the most important things about a mission. Stay calm. As a member of AT6, he was practically required to stay calm due to the near impossible odds they faced. It was never very difficult for him though.

"This is Worm, I've landed near the southern edge of the city. Multiple hostiles are engaging now." Blaze heard from his radio. Looking down, he could see the ground fast approaching him as well, while changelings below him pointed upwards and moved into combat positions. Blaze smiled. He never did get tired of the first strike after the landing. Moving up, he adjusted himself so that his back legs were now pointed towards the ground, ready to dig into the soil below. Slowing down as much as he could, he slammed into the ground, and drove his hooves into the first layer of soil. This action caused his shield to burst, sending blazing hot white magic right at his enemies, incinerating them before they even had a chance to open fire. Alarms quickly began to ring in his ears, but he was more concerned about reporting back to his team.

"This is Blaze, all units spread out and search each area of the city. Be sure to use your scanners to keep away from the rest of us, no point in searching the same area twice." Blaze said as he reached for a small device from his suit. This item was a shield, which could be used to block everything from small pebbles to full out explosive rounds. He wasted no time in launching a magic beam at the device, beginning to power it up. The shield gave out a light humming noise as it became surrounded by a white aura, quickly flattening into a white shield.

"Sorry for the delay Home 2-3, my team has landed in the target zone. According to my scanner, everypony has landed exactly where they were supposed to." Blaze said as an explosion detonated behind him. Turning, he used his wings to levitate him in the air, and brought his shield forward to protect his body. To his front, Blaze saw at least twenty changelings aiming their weapons at him, and while some fired, others ran for cover in what remained in the ruins of Frankenmuth. Behind this initial group was a large fleet of what looked like steel carriages. The carriages suddenly opened, sending out even more changelings. Some crouched down and began to fire at Blaze, while the majority followed the lead of their allies and began to run for cover before the Alicorn would get a chance to mow them down.

"Roger your last Squad Leader. Be advised, tangos are setting up numerous blockades throughout the city. Each one is heavily fortified and will be very difficult to get past. I'm marking them on your scanner now as checkpoints." Twilight said as Blaze blocked a few explosions with his shield. Using his magic, he opened a small portion of the shield and stuck his foreleg out. Quickly, he fired six rounds down the battle field as he carefully strafed over to cover. Restoring the shield, he retracted his wings, watching as EDS' flew over his head, and to the side of him.

"Thanks for the heads up Home 2-3. I'll be sure to alert my troops." Blaze said as he fired three more shots, getting another kill. Focusing, he sent out a ring of energy with his horn, blasting through the buildings with relative ease and knocking down the changelings. Magic was just another tool at his disposal to get the job done. Spike Guns did come in handy, but he'd rather be trapped in a room with his magic then the best Spike Gun known to Ponykind. Placing his shield in front of him once more, Blaze fired more spikes at the hostiles, with shrapnel and fire blowing past him as it came into contact with his shield. He heard movement to his right, and instantly leaped up, flapping his wings in order to stay aloft. Explosions on the ground sent off heat, making Blaze sweat slightly. Turning to his right, he held his shield to the right, as to block anything from his side. Five changelings were aiming their weapons at him, but he reacted too quickly. Within seconds, he had pulled the trigger of his weapon, ending their lives.

"Kaboom." He whispered to himself as he slammed himself into the ground, sending out another shockwave of white energy. Some changelings did manage to dodge the blast, but a majority were hit. The changelings flew back into the buildings, their heads splattering against them as they made contact. More carriages arrived, dropping off even more changelings for Blaze to deal with as he readied his shield once more.

...

_Baltimare, SGTD Base "Bravo"_

_17:12 Hours_

_Sergeant Evergreen, SGTD_

_April 1st_

Green laid down on his bed, taking in a deep breath as he brought his hooves to his forehead. He had just been through hell, and he needed a good break. The General had been sure to chew him out about how he had risked not just the lives of the members of his own squad, but every SGTD team in the city. As if Mason hadn't given him that lecture enough times when they were trapped in that basement. Sighing, Green wiped his forehead and stared at the ceiling of the housing area, which, for him, was nothing more than a bunk bed, a door at the far end leading to the next soldier's living quarters, and a door leading to a bathroom. It was almost like a prison. With how he had been spoken to, he felt like he was in prison. His target practice sessions had been moved from eight to six in the morning, earlier than anypony on base. In addition, his drills would last eight hours instead of the normal five. As if that weren't bad enough, his lunch was no longer going to be issued in it's normal quantities. Instead, he would get half of what the others got. Which meant he had to do twice as much around base, with half the energy.

"Green... Are you okay?" He heard from the side. The quiet voice led him to believe it was Jewel, and when he turned his head, he found that he was correct. Despite how angry the General had been at him, he couldn't help but loosen up when Jewel had come into the room, despite Green telling her to stay put. The General had agreed to allow Jewel to stay with Green, since her parents were dead and there were no orphanages in her home town. She was going to receive normal amounts of rations, but she still had to share the rat hole that was Green's living quarters.

"Yeah... I'm fine Jewel. I just need some rest." Green said calmly as he laid his head on his pillow. Jewel nodded and looked around the room, studying it thoroughly. As she walked around the room and tried to find something to do, Green looked back up to the bottom of the top bunk. Hopefully, Jewel wasn't afraid of heights, because the top bunk didn't look like it could support Green's weight. And if there was one thing he wanted to avoid, it was that bunk crushing her.

"What was he like?" Jewel asked. Looking back over to his right, Green saw Jewel standing on her hind legs, with her forelegs posted on the very front of his bunk, keeping her up.

"Pardon?" Green asked with a confused tone. The question had come out of nowhere, and Green had not been expecting it at all.

"Your dad. What was he like?" Jewel asked again. Green sighed and adjusted himself so that he was now sitting in an upright position on the bed. It had been a long time since he had talked about his father with anypony, even his mother. Granted, he almost never saw her anymore, but they still avoided the subject when they did meet, but maybe that was because she didn't want to talk about it either. His mother had always been a talker, but ever since his father was killed, she didn't talk as much. Jewel's eyes were filled with both sympathy, and curiosity. She seemed very interested in learning about her new caretaker. They had socialized in the basement, but that was talking about their current lives, not the past. Sighing, Green looked down to the ground and shrugged.

"He was a good guy. I have nothing bad to say about him." Green started. Although she didn't say it, Jewel asked him to continue through her body language, which was her tapping her hooves against the bed.

"I honestly don't think I'd ever met a more honorable stallion. He never disobeyed orders, not once. It was always about the mission and the civilians. Even when things looked bleak... He never gave up." Green said. Smiling, he looked back over to Jewel, who was also giving off a light smile. Green continued.

"When he wasn't on the battlefield, he was doing just about anything he could to help out new recruits. He was pretty much a father to everypony in the QGR. Everypony enjoyed his company, and I don't think anypony disliked him." Green frowned, then sighed as he looked back down at the ground.

"But... I guess... His insistence to rescue civilians as part of the QGR code went too far. He ordered us to stand our ground in a section of the city that had become completely over run by the changelings... The next thing I knew, he was lying in a pool of blood in my forelegs..." He said, noticing a tear begin to fall from his eye. Telling himself to get a grip, he sniffed and wiped the tear away from his eye, giving out an exasperated sigh as he looked back to the far wall of his room. Jewel remained silent as she took in his description. Trying to get his mind off of it, Green looked over to Jewel and gave a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry you know what that's like." He said kindly. Jewel's ears dropped, and she looked down at the ground. She already knew what Green was talking about. Both of them had seen their fathers wounded, and slowly die right in front of them. It was a traumatizing experience for anypony, but it was worse for Jewel. She was just a filly. Smiling, Green placed a hoof on hers, and she looked up to face him.

"Don't worry... It'll be okay." He said with a cheerful voice. Jewel smiled lightly, even though her ears still pointed downwards. She nodded, and paused for a moment, then gave Green a small hug, which Green returned.

"Thank you for everything." Jewel said. She released him and got down off of the bed, smiling as she walked over to the ladder to get into the top bunk. Green chuckled and shook his head as he laid back down on the bed.

"Guess she isn't afraid of heights." He thought to himself as he drifted into unconsciousness.

**OCs in This Chapter:**

**SFC. Blaze: Erol Carstein **


	9. Mind Games

_Frankenmuth (Changeling-Occupied City)_

_16:52 Hours_

_SFC. Blaze, AT6_

_April 1st_

Blaze threw his shield up, causing a charging changeling to smack into it. Using as much force as he could, the pushed his foreleg forward, smacking it in it's snout. Not wasting a moment, the Alicorn quickly brought his shield back around, blocking yet another explosion from an EDS. Despite the fact they were hopelessly outmatched in this battle, the changelings refused to surrender without a fight. That didn't matter to Blaze. For all he was concerned, the changelings could place an entire fleet of air support, ground units, and heavy support vehicles in front of him, but he wouldn't stop until he found that General. If he was still here. The blockades had really slowed Blaze down, although they might have slowed him down even more if Twilight had not marked them for him. With haste, Blaze blocked five more explosions before firing a few more rounds at his adversaries, then carefully strafed to cover as he heard a soft clicking noise.

" Squad, this is Blaze. I'm facing heavy enemy opposition in the northern edge of the city. Give me a sitrep on your current positions. Over." Blaze said as more fire whipped past his face. The intense heat made him sweat even harder, and made the back of his neck burn ferociously. As he began to reload, the radio blasted the responses from his team.

"This is Worm, several enemy carriers, but there's not as many coming as before."

"Typhoon reporting in, I'm held up at an enemy checkpoint, but they're getting desperate.

One of us must be close."

"Blitz. One heavily armored carrier and several hostile squads."

Breathing heavily, Blaze slammed the new roll of spikes into his weapon, trying to keep his mind off of the intense heat coming from every side of him. He wasn't tired, but the explosions and fires made him feel like he was being cooked alive. Popping up, he used his wings to levitate himself in the air as he fired several more rounds down the battle field. Hearing the sound of hoof steps, he used his magic to send out yet another burst of white energy, as he dove back to the ground and placed his shield in front of his body. Looking to his sides, he can see that his ears have not betrayed him, and several changelings lie stunned on the ground. Another explosion nearly pushed him back, but he was able to repel it. In front of him lie the final checkpoint, which was actually one of the believed hiding places of the general. If he was here, there was nothing Blaze wouldn't do to grab him. Using all of his concentration, Blaze grit his teeth as his horn began to glow brightly, to the point it was nearly blinding. At the same time, he lowered his shield and pointed his gun forward, which also began to glow.

"Good bye..." He said through his teeth as the changelings began to cover their eyes from the bright magic. Pulling his trigger, Blaze's arm was blown back, as several blazing white rods shot forward from his weapon. Within milliseconds, each one had dug itself into the skull of a changeling, or was aimed at the driver of each carrier. Blaze groaned in pain, looking down at his foreleg. His gun was now smoking from the energy he had used, and his arm had a large burn mark on it. Spells like this were dangerous, and considered to be only acceptable for use if you were trapped. The reason was because each of these, 'Devastator Spells', did damage to the caster as well as the hostiles. While the damage was scaled down significantly, it still could limit your effectiveness in combat.

"Blaze, what just happened? Your scanner is indicating damage, are you hit, over?" Twilight asked from her radio. Looking up, Blaze could see what was left of the changelings coming out of the carriers. However, instead of turning and firing, they merely looked at him, gave out a pitiful noise, and retreated inside the base, where other members of their kind rushed them inside. Groaning, Blaze stood and kept his shield at his side, marching towards the building slowly. They had nowhere to run, they weren't safe in there.

"Don't worry about it Home 2-3. Alert the rest of the squad that I've made it to one of the suspected hideouts. I'll report back once I clear the place out. Over." Blaze replied as he began to reload. The spell he had used up all the ammo in his weapon, since that was something that was a requirement for the spell. Slamming the new roll into place, he busted in the door. The surprised jumps of the changelings had been expected, but not the sudden wave of dizziness that flooded over him. Groaning in sickness, Blaze stumbled for a moment, and brought his shield up to defend himself. His vision blurred as he could hear a changeling bark out orders to the other ones, surely about to fire on him.

"Blaze, what's going on? Your scanner is reading massive disorientation, are you sure you're alright, over?" Twilight said into the radio. Even though he could hear a small amount of concern in her voice, Blaze blew off Twilight, standing on his hooves as the room continued to spiral. He'd dealt with this before, he just needed to stay calm, focus, and get the job done. Chances are this was happening because there were so many changelings. If he took them out, he'd be fine. As the first changeling fired on him, he brought his shield to that direction, and blocked the shot. Before the changeling could fire again, Blaze fired a shot and hit him. The room wasn't swirling as badly now, and Blaze's vision was only blurred slightly.

"Blaze! Are you there? For the love of Celestia respond!" Twilight shouted again as Blaze leapt into the air, dodging yet another barrage of explosions.

"I'm fine! Just got hit by some nerve gas!" Blaze lied, instantly bringing his shield to his front once more. The changelings each fired away at the Alicorn, only for each shot to be repelled and shot back into the room as shrapnel and fire. Using all of his concentration, Blaze used his magic to send out another burst of white energy, knocking all of the changelings to the ground. Before Blaze had the chance to fire though, another wave of dizziness, and a new sense of nausea smacked right into him. His wings felt like butter, no longer able to support him. He fell to the ground as he groaned in sickness, trying to stop the room from spinning. Restraining from allowing himself to pass out, he growled in defiance and pushed up with all his might as the changelings once again began to get up. With his vision blurred so badly, all he could do was send out another burst of energy to knock them away, this time against the walls as to knock them out as well. As he cast the spell, an explosion detonated behind him, knocking him down. While his suit has protected him from the explosion, as it was designed to, the shockwave of the blast has rendered Blaze unable to move, as he is completely paralyzed from shell shock.

_No... This can't be one of those places..._ Blaze thought to himself, trying to find the strength in his aching limbs to push himself up. Alarms began to ring, although Blaze's actions had probably caused anypony remaining to evacuate. The room continued to swirl around, as Twilight begged him to respond. Groaning, Blaze began to crawl away, trying to move to one of the doors leading to another room.

"Twi... Is... Frankenmuth... A Magic Capital?" Blaze said. He noticed a large amount of fatigue in his voice as his vision began to fade in and out of blackness.

"What does that matter? You need to get-"

"Just... Tell... Just Tell Me..."

"Um... Yeah, now will you get out of there?" Blaze groaned, rolling over onto his back. Magic Capitals were a good thing for most Alicorns, as they strengthened the power of their spells. But for him, if he was too close to one, it meant that Chrysalis could get into his head. It was another side affect of his time in the Changeling hive. All he could hear was a loud ringing, and something that sounded like shouting. He couldn't understand it, even as lost his consciousness.

...

Blaze awoke in an abyss of black, as his eyes tried to distinguish if it was just darkness, or it had indeed been Chrysalis getting into his head. His dizziness had faded away, as had his nausea, leaving him completely able to operate once more. Groaning again, he looked over to his right, seeing his foreleg as though it were as bright as day time. He frowned. If it was black and he could still see perfectly fine, that only meant one thing.

"Why hello my dear Blaze. It's been too long." Blaze heard. He recognized the voice instantly. Leaping up from his position, he turned to face the area behind him, readying his weapon. The second he saw who was standing there, he furrowed his eyes in anger. Standing before him was none other than Queen Chrysalis herself.

"You..." Blaze said hatefully, his hoof ready to pull the trigger inside his gun at any moment. Chrysalis laughed, walking closer to Blaze as he began to feel a tugging motion on his foreleg. His gun became surrounded by a green aura, and pulled fiercely against Blaze's hoof. Realizing what she was trying to do, Blaze threw his other foreleg onto his weapon, trying to hold it in place. Despite his efforts, the weapon flew from his foreleg, and Blaze could only watch as Chrysalis held in the air with her magic.

"Now honey... Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Chrysalis taunted. As soon as she had said that, she threw the gun down on the ground, and shoved it away with one of her hooves. Blaze stared angrily at the Changeling Queen, who now circled around him, staring back at him with an evil smile. Confrontations like this were not very usual, but every time it happened, Chrysalis would try to intimidate, and attack Blaze's psyche. Even with all his training, trying to remain calm around her took all his focus. He was terrified of her.

"What do you want?" Blaze demanded, forcing a strong voice so she couldn't see through him. Chrysalis smiled, and stopped behind him. He could only imagine what she was thinking.

"Not much. Just to talk with you."

"Go die in a hole." Chrysalis chuckled, calling him a good joker. Blaze's vision shifted, flashing an image of his destroyed city. Groaning, Blaze collapsed as Chrysalis smiled fiendishly, walking back around to his front. Blaze breathed heavily, trying to remain calm. His fear was getting the best of him, and Chrysalis was preying on that to make him break.

"Come now my dear, why such language? Do I mean nothing to you?" Chrysalis said with a kind voice. Instantly, Blaze's back legs began to burn with pain, causing him to give a muffled scream as he forced his mouth to stay shut. An image appeared in his vision, and he watched as a changeling shoved hot coals onto his legs. The sound and scent of his flesh burning was unmistakable, nearly making Blaze vomit from smell.

"After all, we have been through so much together." Chrysalis continued. His vision faded back to Chrysalis standing in front of him, once again in the abyss of black. She was still smiling fiendishly, clearly enjoying the sight of Blaze's pain. Starting to laugh again, her horn glowed green, filling Blaze with the images of his fallen comrades, causing him to groan in pain again. His mind was being ripped apart, forced to remember what he didn't want to remember. The fact that his mind was being invaded itself sent shockwaves of pain and discomfort through his head, as this was not a natural feeling.

"Face it... Even with everything you've done, all things that you've said to rid yourself of me... I will always be with you. Whether you like it or not." She said devilishly, smiling as she brought her face closer to his. Blaze tried to break free, but his mind was still being forced to watch, and feel all of his pain from his days of entrapment. It felt as though his mind were being ripped in half from the inside out.

"It's sad really... You were taken away from me, but I can still play my fun little games with you anytime I want. All because of our little..." Blaze grit his teeth, horrified of what she would say next. Chrysalis was now a mere centimeters away from touching his ear, and Blaze could feel her breath down his spine. His breath accelerated, and his heart began to pound inside of his chest as Chrysalis gave a quiet, controlled giggle.

"Play date." She whispered into his ear. Images began to flood Blaze's mind, forcing him back to that horrible day. The Queen had become so interested in Blaze, she had proceeded to 'experiment' on him physically, alone. One of these included him forcibly mating with her, despite every inch of his body hating it. He didn't care what she called it, to him it was nothing more than rape. Blaze grimaced as the memories flooded in, and his knees buckled beneath him, forcing him back down onto the ground. Tears flowed down his face, despite his efforts to keep them contained. Chrysalis happily giggled again, reviling in the misery of the Alicorn.

"Who would have thought that we would become linked through my experiments? I must say... It is truly a pleasure to know what's going on inside that head of yours..." Chrysalis said, while Blaze grit his teeth down even harder. It felt like cinderblocks were pushing against them, but he couldn't stop his grimacing. The memories were too painful. Looking up, he saw Chrysalis smiling happily.

"I hate you... I hate you so much..." Blaze said through his grit teeth. Chrysalis chuckled once again, and then proceeded to flood his mind again. This time, Blaze couldn't help but cry out in agony as his mind was filled with images of his destroyed home, seeing the members of his family incinerated and burnt to a crisp. In between each image was Chrysalis' laughing face, as the image changed from one member to the other. Blaze was losing his grip on control, and was nearing the point of breaking. His pain was reaching new levels of extremism, ones he had not experienced since his days in the Hive. The next image thrown into his head was that of his little sister, half of her body on fire, while she thrashed and cried out for help. His resolve broke. Blaze began to loosen his face, changing from that of hatred to one of pure sorrow, as he begged Chrysalis tearfully to stop. Chrysalis chuckled one final time, then halted the flow of memories, releasing him from his mind games. She stared at him with joy in her eyes, though her eyebrows furrowed on her head, making all the more intimidating.

"The brave and strong Blaze, actually breaking down? I thought you were better than that sweetie..." Chrysalis said with a mock voice of pity. She laughed again and threw Blaze across the abyss, making him crash against the ground with a thud. Blaze breathed heavily, trying to calm his raging nerves and damaged mind. His psychological health was constantly battered and beaten, but never to such an extreme extent as this. Even when not able to physically speak to him, Chrysalis still managed to hear his thoughts, thanks to those stupid experiments. He was never alone... Even if there was no pony around, he still couldn't be alone with his own thoughts. It was why he always tried to break away, to get away from his tormented mind. Still, two could play this game. If Chrysalis wanted to attack his mind, he could do the same.

"I hate you with all my heart..." Blaze said through grit teeth as his horn began to glow. Forcefully, he shoved flashbacks of Chrysalis' defeat at Canterlot during the wedding into her mind, causing her to step back from a nauseous feeling. Without letting up, he channeled his hate into a mental and psychological attack, inflicting pain to Chrysalis' head. Unlike her, he couldn't attack her emotionally, but he could still do some damage with his spells. It was one of the only good things to come out of the forced mating session between them. Chrysalis let out a short shriek of pain, covering her head with her hooves.

"I have hated you... I still hate you... And I will ALWAYS hate you!" Blaze shouted as he threw everything he had at Chrysalis, causing her to let out an agonized groan. Opening her eyes, the Changeling Queen glared at Blaze, but this time, it was out of outrage.

"You... Think... You can beat me at my own game?" Chrysalis shouted as she launched a burst of magic at Blaze. Shifting to the right, Blaze easily dodged the spell, although he had to stop casting his spell to do it. The two stood there, eying each other. Each was trying to intimidate the other, Chrysalis so that she could continue her mind games with Blaze, and Blaze to break free of this nightmare. Chrysalis smiled, and backed away.

"We will see each other soon..." She said near a whisper. Blaze tried to step forward, but his vision faded white as a new voice filled his head.

"Blaze? Blaze!" He heard. Covering his eyes, he tried to block out the blinding light. He groaned in pain as the voice grew louder, becoming more recognizable at each call. Shortly after that, the white began to fade, changing back to a solid room, rather than the abyss. The walls became outlined with color as he noticed three figures standing above him, though his vision blurred violently.

"Sir? Are you alright?" He heard one of the figures ask. Blaze groaned and shook his head, clearing his vision. The figures came into focus, revealing his soldiers all looking down at him with emotionless expressions.

"Good to see you up sir. Wasn't sure if you were gonna wake up." Typhoon said, throwing out his hoof. Blaze observed him for a moment, trying to make sure that this was reality and not just some hallucination. Worm and Typhoon rose eyebrows, asking what was taking him so long to grab onto a hoof. Blaze chuckled. This was definitely reality. Groaning, Blaze took hold of Typhoon's hoof, who then proceeded to help him up to his hooves.

"The intel was off. The general was never here, and reinforcements are inbound." Blitz said as he fired a spike into one of the changelings on the ground. Nodding, Blaze issued his orders to fall back from the city. As his men exited the building, another voice filled his head.

"Blaze! Oh thank Celestia you're okay! What the heck happened?" Twilight said into his radio, causing Blaze to frown. Twilight was one of the few ponies he actually had become close to, with the exception of his sister and his squad. However, she was the only pony who knew about what could happen to him.

"It was her... Wasn't it?" Twilight asked, her voice full of concern and sympathy. Looking away, Blaze sighed as he thought back to his encounter, Chrysalis torturing him in any way possible inside of his own head. It was never easy to talk about, and he certainly didn't want to remember what was so freshly etched into his head.

"I'll talk to you when I get back. I don't even want to think about it right now..." Blaze said as he walked outside, preparing for the long flight back to base.


	10. The Charge

_Troton, AT6 Headquarters_

_18:00 Hours_

_SFC. Blaze, AT6_

_April 1st_

Blaze slowed his descent as a team of unicorns and pegasi helped his team land through the dense fog that had settled in Troton. Since it was the most excluded of the towns in Equestria, Troton was selected to house the AT6. It was also the farthest away from any changeling occupied cities and military bases, making it safer for the Princesses to run their strike team from the city. Keeping his eyes on the pegasi waving their hooves in the air, Blaze made sure to keep his hooves down to the ground, with unicorns using their magic to light up portions of the fog needed for the pegasi to lead Blaze's team to safety. As he pushed through the fog, the runway became clear, and the pegasi now accompanied the AT6 team in using it to land. Already at the runway was a group of radio operators and mapping specialists who had helped give them resources and Intel on their mission. Regardless of how well the mission went over the radio, they always liked to see the teams land back at base before confirming the operation was over.

"Take it easy, nice and steady now!" Somepony shouted from the runway, as though it even needed to be said. Blaze was now merely inches from the ground, and flapped his wings quickly as he made sure to keep his hooves facing the pavement. As he touched down, he retracted his wings and looked behind him, seeing the rest of his team beginning to touch the ground. Nodding, he began to walk over to the barracks. His part in this was done. All he needed now was to rest up. Unlike the rest of his team, he didn't interact much with the other members on base.

"Hey." He heard from the side. Looking right, he could see Twilight coming towards him, a small smile across her face. The headset on her head somehow made her look more serious than she usually was. Twilight was always concerned about making deadlines and getting things accomplished, which made her somewhat annoying at times. Still, she was one of the few ponies Blaze felt he could open up to.

"Well, if it isn't the great protégée of Princess Celestia herself." He said with a sarcastic tone. Twilight shook her head and came right to the side of him, now walking alongside him.

"You did well out there." She said. Blaze shook his head, refusing to accept the compliment.

"We didn't find the general. We failed our mission." He said as he opened the door to one of the barracks. Inside was a group of ponies sitting and discussing about something, a map in the center of them. To the side of them were two AT6 operators walking through, not paying any mind to him and Twilight. The building itself was mostly basic in it's interior, only containing a mess hall, a training area, and a few rooms for the soldiers. One of which was a resting area, which Blaze found himself at constantly. It wasn't that he was lazy, but having Chrysalis in his head was not pleasant. And after a mission, he always felt exhausted. Besides, he wanted to be alone. He never could truly be alone with the Changeling Queen always in his head, so isolating himself helped him get the illusion that he could be by himself at times. Twilight stepped in front of Blaze, a frown stretching across her face.

"Blaze, he wasn't there. He must have evacuated the city. It wasn't your fault." She said with a matter a fact tone. There was a slightly higher pitch in her voice, and Blaze could already tell what that meant. She knew something was wrong, and she wanted him to tell her what was bothering him. Blaze stared emotionless at her for a few more moments, until she broke the silence once again.

"This isn't about the mission... Is it?" She asked with concern. Blaze looked away not wanting to discuss it. He knew that Twilight meant well, but sometimes she didn't realize what she did would cause more harm than good. All he needed right now was to just get his mind off of what had happened, not go into some tearful therapy session with Twilight.

"It's nothing to worry about, just forget it." He said with the same tone he had been using, not giving any indication of wanting the conversation to continue. Before he could get away from her, Twilight reached out and grabbed one of his forelegs gently, which was enough to make Blaze turn around and face her. There was a sad look in her eye, and there was evident care in her expression.

"Blaze... We agreed when we got together that we'd tell each other everything." She said calmly. Blaze sighed and looked at the ground, trying to decide whether or not to just brush her aside again. He did care about her feelings, but there was a line between being caring, and being invasive. Then again, most of the time he never had anypony to talk to about what went on in his head. Sighing again, he turned to face her again, this time with a softer expression.

"No... It's not about the mission..." He said with a shake of the head. Twilight placed a hoof on his face, and leveled his eyes to her own, making sure that he was looking at her as they talked. When they were aligned, she released his face, and placed her hoof back on the floor.

"It was her... Wasn't it?" She asked.

"What do you think?" He shot back with an irritated tone. Twilight reared back slightly at this, and Blaze instantly regretted saying those words the way he did.

"Sorry..." He said meekly. Twilight just nodded, no longer reared back.

"It's okay..." She said quietly. Blaze sighed and shook his head again, still not wanting to talk about what he had seen inside his head. He invited her to walk with him to the resting areas, to which she agreed. They passed a few operators on their way there, but the barracks were relatively empty, since only a couple of AT6 teams even existed anyway.

"What did she do to you this time?" She asked, her voice soothing Blaze's anxieties slightly.

"Everything that haunts my nightmares. She showed me my home being destroyed, my torture, our session, and..." His voice trailed off, becoming frail and weak. He stopped in his tracks, his lips forming a downward curve as his ears pointed downward, and his eyes clenched shut, almost as though he were in pain.

"What? What did she..." Twilight started asking, before pausing. Realizing what was wrong, she placed her hoof on his back, comforting him.

"Blaze... You did your best..." She tried to tell him. Blaze shook his head, a single tear coming down his eye.

"That doesn't even matter... You saw what happened to them... What the changelings did to my family... What they did to her..." He said as the sorrow in his voice began to become evident, despite his attempts to keep himself collected.

"I know what you're going to say next... What happened to Sally wasn't your fault..." She said quietly. Shaking his head again, Blaze looked up at her, tears still trailing down his eyes.

"Well then whose was it Twilight? Care to enlighten me?" He said, a hostile growl emanating from the sentence. Twilight noticed this immediately, and backed away slightly. Blaze looked away, moving back into his thoughts. Everypony said it was because of the changelings, and what they had done. That just sounded like an excuse to him. Anypony who used that clearly didn't want to accept the blame for the things they had seen. It made sense, and it seemed easy for anypony to accept that. But not Blaze. In his eyes, he was equally responsible for what happened to Sally.

"Just give me some time alone." He said. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but froze just as she was about to argue. Instead, she merely sighed, and gave Blaze a small kiss on his cheek.

"You know where to find me if you need me." She said with a slightly higher pitched. Blaze walked away, not once looking back at her.

...

_Seaddle, "Red Zone"_

_18:00 Hours_

_Master Sergeant Gear, Equestrian Army (75th Regiment)_

_April 1st_

Gear ducked back underneath a trench just as a trail of fire and shrapnel ripped through the air above him. To his right, Joyce had one hoof over her head, trying to keep herself shielded. Her helmet would have repelled the blast, but Gear could understand her fear. Gear quickly adjusted himself, firing another six spikes down the field of battle before once again seeking the refuge of the trench. He was almost out of ammo, so he got one roll of spikes out and wrapped it around his foreleg, that way it would be ready once his current roll ran out.

"It's no good sir! Comms are bugging out! We can't call in air support on these guys!" He heard somepony shout from the right. Gear shook his head, not happy with his current predicament. The enemy had brought in reinforcements, now outnumbering his guys over 3 to 1. Another wave of heat flew past him as an explosion went off in the middle of the battlefield, though me managed to keep himself where he was.

"Take some men and get onto the far side of the city, see if you can set up a perimeter." Gear said as prepared another flash rock. From his right, Joyce popped up and fired two more rounds, instantly ducking back down once she had finished firing.

"The far side takes us too close to one of their compounds! The Marines have been pushing that way for weeks and haven't moved a centimeter!" Joyce shouted over the sound of gunfire, soon afterward taking another peak over the tip of the trench. Gear fired a few more shots when he heard his gun make a clicking noise. Ducking back under the trench, he ripped the empty roll of spikes off of his wrist, quickly moving the one he had stored on his foreleg into it's place. This tactic saved him about a second and a half of reloading, and while that wasn't much, every second counted out here.

"Then just keep your eye out for an opening in their lines." He said calmly. Joyce nodded as he could hear a scream of pain coming from the side of him. Looking to his left, Gear could see a stallion falling to the ground with a large fire spreading across his body, while he thrashed around giving deafening screams. Gear merely looked away, trying to keep his mind on the battle. Joyce however, was unable to due so, and stared in horror as their comrade burned alive. Gear looked back over to her, and motioned with his head back out to the battle.

"Stay focused Sergeant." He said with a collected tone. Once again he popped up, trying to see where the enemy was. Multiple changelings remained hidden away in their trenches, but a few climbed out and began to charge at them, clearly hoping to overwhelm the ponies and claim their trench. Gear wouldn't have it though, and brought his weapon up in front of him. Just as he was about to fire, an explosion went off right front of him, causing him to cover his head. Looking around, he could see countless other explosions along the battlefield, all of them completely distorting the view of the charging changelings. That was when it hit him. This was no ordinary charge. The changelings were sending everything they had at them.

"It's an all out rush! Everypony get ready for hoof-to-hoof combat!" Cole shouted over the explosions. With haste, Gear pulled out his knife from a pocket on his uniform, readying himself for the first wave. If they could hold off the charging force, the changelings will have given up a valuable position in the city, giving the Army and the Marines an advantage. However, these attacks were brutal, and most of them ended in a retreat, or a majority of the target unit either KIA or MIA. Gear feared neither one, and stood ready.

"Here they come!" Cole shouted again. Looking to his left, Gear could see his friend with a determined smile on his face, almost seeming like he had wanted an attack like this. The explosions were soon drowned out by the shouts of the changelings, trying to strike fear into Gear's troops.

"Stand your ground, this is our home, and we will not let them take it!" Gear shouted, a mass battle cry following it. Gear only raised his voice when he was rallying his men, and now was one of those times. As the first changeling rushed out of the smoke created by the explosions, Gear grabbed him by the neck and threw him down beside him. Before it could react, he plunged his blade into the combatant's throat, a squirt of blood registering a hit to its major blood vessel. Looking back up, he could see a group of five changelings in front of him, and raised his gun to fire.

"Hold them!" He shouted, firing two rounds before he was forced to block an attack from one of them. Jabbing forward, his hoof connected with one of their jaws, knocking it back for a moment. Utilizing this, Gear expertly dodged the attacks of the other changelings, stabbing one in the chest and then using it as a shield to block the second one's strike. The third changeling recovered and launched himself at Gear, but he ducked under the strike, and threw his hoof into his gut. Before he could land a hit on him though, another group of changelings broke through the smoke, forcing him to focus on them now. He managed to stab one in its gut, but three others surrounded him. The previous two were also in a circle around him, making it five on one. It didn't matter to Gear though. He wasn't afraid of being outnumbered.

Two changelings attacked him, but he managed to catch their blades. The other three then attacked, and while he dodged two of them, one got a slash across the left side of his face. Not letting this stop him, Gear threw the two changelings he had stopped on the ground, then stabbed one of the remaining three standing. After another dodge, he landed several slashes against the one that had hit him, rounding it off with a strong slice across its throat.

"Sir! Are you alright?" He could hear Joyce's voice shout from somewhere else in the trench. Gear knew that she couldn't help him, so he saw no point in answering the call. Ducking under another attack, he thrust at the changeling in front of him, but it managed to back away and avoid it. Behind him, the two changelings he had knocked to the ground had recovered, and launched another group of attacks at him. Avoiding them, he rolled underneath them, tripping them once more. The third one launched at him again, but Gear caught his hoof. He quickly twisted his forelegs, gaining a disturbing crunching sound. The changeling screeched in pain, then elbowed Gear in his chest.

This left him out of breath for a moment, which the changeling used to shove Gear away from him. Having dropped his blade when his foreleg was broken, it was all he could manage to do. Taking a quick look to his left, Green could see innumerable other groups of changelings charging at them, at least four in each one. He knew he was being overrun, and he had to move further into the trenches. There was no escaping that fact. After blocking and stabbing the other changeling, Gear gave the order for his troops to fall back into the deeper parts of the trenches. Before he himself could move, he felt a changeling launch itself onto his back, and something sharp piercing his side. The burning sensation from the object made Gear grown in pain, and he started thrashing as he attempted to throw the changeling off of his back. Pulling out his blade, the changeling stabbed him again, making Gear shout in anger. With a sudden surge of energy, he threw the changeling off of his back, and stomped on his chest. After that, he forced his own blade through it's skull. Attempting to turn to the paths leading to deeper parts of the trench, he saw another changeling charging at him.

Before he could react, he felt it's hoof force itself into his face, and Gear felt his jaw burning intensely. Spitting out some blood, Gear caught the next punch, and withdrew his blade as he slashed at the attacker. Before he could, a spike lodged itself into its skull, and it fell over on the ground, dead. Confused, Gear looked over to the left, seeing Joyce with her gun pointed out. Her forehead had a fresh cut on it, which was slowing dripping blood onto her nose.

"Come on! We don't have time!" She shouted as she reached over to him. A sudden pain ran through Gear's head, as though struck by something. He fell to the ground, barely catching himself on his hooves. His entire body was on fire, and he was gritting his teeth. Hearing another thud noise, he looked to his left and watched as Joyce fell onto the ground as well, her teeth clenched as she began to breathe heavily. A group of changelings began to pick them up and bind them as the rest charged past them, now firing their guns at his team. Gear looked up to his captors, seeing a changeling with a cut along it's nose, fresh by the looks of it.

"Taking prisoners? Don't have the stones to kill us? Come on you cowards!" Joyce shouted in a mocking tone. A punch across the face was enough to silence her, and two more knocked her out cold. Gear felt a large force slam into his own face as he tried to keep himself from grunting. He could already tell that these punches were not to knock him out, but rather to force him to stay down.

"Our Queen needs subjects for her experiments, and you two make perfect specimens." One of the changelings hissed at him. Gear looked back over to Joyce, whose head now slumped on her shoulders as the changelings carried her away. Gear didn't know what was going to happen to them, but he had a bad feeling about it.


End file.
